In the dust of the old world
by aboywhowantedtobegod
Summary: RWBY Fallout AU. Yang, Blake and Ruby live as nomad traders, travelling throughout the American wasteland. But when they meet Weiss, the daughter of a weapons dealer, their lives take a change, forcing them across the wasteland while fighting to stay alive. Rated M for smut and violence. Cover Image mot mine, credit goes to eslocosoldado-deviantart-com-art-RWBY-Fallout-Wallpapper
1. Chapter 1: A Journey ends,Another begins

"Yaaaang! Are we there yet?"

The tall blonde turned to answer her sister for the hundredth time since they left Rivet city. The small redhead was trudging alongside the pack Brahmin, which carried their personal possessions and items to sell. She went up to her sister and ruffled her hair, smiling gently.

"We're almost there, Ruby. Look, you can even see it on the horizon!"

She crouched to her younger sister's level and pointed out towards the ragged spikes that jutted out against the smooth landscape, promising the group that the small town of Megaton was close.

"Just a little further."

Yang turned to look at her sister, her large silver eyes now filled with hope at the idea of a mattress and a decent meal. She finally picked herself up and rushed ahead, leaving Yang smiling in her wake. Yang watched as Ruby's worn red cape flipped in the wind. Though Ruby could easily wipe out a band of raiders without breaking a sweat, she was still a child in so many ways. Her train of thought broke suddenly when a hand grasped her shoulder. Jumping for a moment, thinking she was being ambushed, she turned to meet the lips of her third companion. When the kiss broke, she looked into the face of the person she loved as much as her sister, maybe more. Giant golden eyes shone out against a face matted with dust and dirt.

"What was that for?"

Blake pulled away from Yang, furrowing her brow, but still smiling.

"Do I need a reason?"

"Uh, no- Just wasn't expecting it. I thought you wanted to stick further behind, you know, be our watchful guardian."

Though she was happy to see her lover, it was true. Normally, Yang and Ruby travelled together with the Brahmin, while Blake kept a short distance away, watching them through the scope of her trusty sniper rifle, that now hung over her shoulder. Blake shrugged.

"Like you said, it's only a little further. I think my job is done for now."

Silently, she intertwined her thin fingers with Yang's gloved hand.

"Besides, I wanted to be with you."

Smiling, yang cupped Blake's face in her gloved hands and kissed her forehead delicately. Stroking her cheek gently, she finally spoke again.

"Come on. Let's catch up with Ruby."

**oo0oo**

Sitting in a small bar called "The Brass Lantern", everyone with the exception of Blake tucked into their meal, shattered from the last few days of trekking across the barren capital wasteland. Blake surveyed the interior of the building with curious eyes while she sipped on some water, waiting for the first sign of trouble. Yang looked up at her girlfriend, her satisfied smile replaced with a look of concern.

"Babe, please relax. This place is empty and you haven't eaten a bite of anything. Please stop worrying."

Blake looked at Yang, her hard frown softening when she saw the clear worry on her. Smiling gently, she tucked her into her cooked steak, her eyes still occasionally flitting around her surroundings. Yang was right though, they finished their meal in peace and without incident. Finally, the tall women who had served them came over to the girls.

"Did you enjoy your meal?"

Yang smiled up at her, nodding gently.

"Yeah, thank you, how much do we owe you?"

"55 caps for all of you."

Yang raised her eyebrows slightly as she went to pay the girl. This was a lot cheaper than other places the group had been to in the past. She made a mental note to eat at this place if they ended up passing by this area again. Rummaging through the pockets of her leather duster, she grabbed a fistful of caps, and counted out the sum, the woman patiently waiting by her side. Yang gave her all she left out, tipping the rest back into her pocket.

"I'm sorry, you gave me too much. There's 70 caps here."

Yang smiled, tilting her head towards the woman's hand.

"That's your tip."

The woman opened her mouth in slight shock, and then composed herself again, smiling again and putting her hands behind her back.

"Thank you, miss."

"You're welcome. It's been a while since the last time I've been to Megaton. Where should I go for a place to crash?"

"We have a few spare beds. Otherwise, you can stay at Moriarty's."

Yang grimaced at the name. Even after the last visit, she remembered the old pervert who tried to convince her to be his employee's "paid accomplice", staring at her chest all throughout the whole exchange. Yang shuddered at the memory and turned back to the woman.

"Maybe a room here would be better."

**oo0oo**

_"YANG! RUN! TAKE RUBY AND BLAKE AND DON'T LOOK BACK! WHATEVER HAPPENS, DON'T LOOK BACK! RUN RU-"_

Yang woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up immediately, still reeling from her nightmare. Her vest clung to her, her chest slowing down from her rapid breathing. She looked in the corner of the room, hoping she hadn't woken anyone. She found her sister snoring loudly in her single bed, using her red cape as a blanket. She then turned to Blake, who lay next to her. This time, she found her girlfriend awake, golden cat-like eyes looking at her through the darkness.

"A bad dream again?"

Yang fell back onto her back as she ran her hands through her hair, sighing loudly.

"Yeah"

Blake nodded slightly, not taking her eyes off Yang.

"Come here."

Blake opened her arms and leaned towards Yang, inviting her. Yang rolled on to her lover, tucking her head under Blake's chin, while Blake embraced her, one arm slung lazily over her shoulder and her other hand stroking her back. Yang started sobbing gently. Blake responded by kissing the top of her head and hushing Yang.

"Shhh. It's okay."

"It's not. I can't stop-"

"I know, Yang. But there was nothing you could do. There was nothing either of us could do."

Yang's soft sobs turned into her louder cries accompanied with tears, though she attempted to keep her voice down, remembering about her sleeping sister, who stirred gently in her bed.

"It never ends, Blake."

"I know, Yang. But nothing can change the past."

Yang successfully tried to stop her crying, reducing her loud outbursts to mere sniffles.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

Blake smiled slightly, though Yang didn't notice. She took her girlfriend's chin with one hand, kissing at the streaks left by her tears, still stoking her back.

"Don't worry, I was awake anyway," Blake lied. Yang was suffering enough from the ghosts of her memories past; she didn't need that topped with guilt, even over something as small as accidentally waking her.

"Blake?"

"Yes?"

Yang paused for a second.

"Do you think I could've saved them?"

Blake instantly replied with a single no.

"You know if you went back, you would be dead as well."

Yang nodded against her girlfriend's chest, though the doubt that forever plagued her mind didn't subside with her response. It never did. She instead gripped her girlfriend tighter, but softly enough so that Blake stayed comfortable. She decided to change the topic, hoping to drive haunted memories with plans for the near future.

"We'll need to check out crater side supply. We have all plenty to trade with on the Brahmin. Plus it'll be nice to see Moira again."

Both girls smiled at the thought. Moira Brown. They only visited Megaton a few times, but they always made sure to visit crater side supply. Moira owned the store and was a friendly woman, friendlier than most in this town. She was a little peculiar, to put it politely, but never enough to freak out the group.

"We will, but we should get some sleep"

Yang nodded one last time, before she fell asleep in Blake's arms. Felling happy and protected in her arms, the night terrors left Yang to get some sleep, even if just for tonight.

**oo0oo**

Blake awoke gently to dim sunlight coming through the window. She twisted gently in her sheets, expecting to find the warm form of her girlfriend. When she found that the rest of the bed was unoccupied, she opened her eyes gently, searching for Yang.

She found Yang already wide awake, dressed in her usual large boots, worn white camouflage trousers and a tattered long sleeved top. She gathered up her blanket to cover her body and got up to meet Yang, ignoring the freezing metal of the floor. She wrapped herself around Yang from behind, rubbing her head against the blonde's muscular back. Yang turned her head, smiling when she noticed black hair.

"Good morning."

"Morning. What are you doing up so early?"

Yang shrugged, now turning to face her lover. Wrapping her arms around Blake's neck, she held the girl close, gently kissing Blake on the forehead as she tucked her head under yang's chin. It was as if Blake's body was made to fit perfectly with hers. Yang smiled gently at the thought.

"You sleep well, Blake?"

"Mm hmm, did you get much sleep?"

Yang nodded gently. She looked at Blake, the thick blanket and her thin clothes she wore to bed her only protection to the elements. She looked down to notice that her feet were unprotected against the freezing metal of the floor.

"You not cold?"

Blake shrugged slightly, looking up into Yang's lilac eyes.

"A little,"

"You should get back to bed then,"

Blake smiled softly, kissing Yang on the mouth with tender passion.

"I'm good right here,"

Yang grinned evilly.

"I wasn't asking,"

Before Blake could register Yang's words; the taller girl picked her girlfriend up easily, a small squeak of surprise escaping her lips. As soon as they were by the edge of the bed, Yang put Blake gently down on the bed and collapsed on the space next to her, adjusting herself so she could be face to face with her. Blake threw the blanket over Yang and snuggled into the blonde, who instinctively held her gently. For the longest time, they just laid there in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's presence. The slight wind and ruby's gentle snores the only thing keeping total silence at bay. Soon, over Blake's head, Yang could hear Ruby stir gently from her sleep, and saw her lazy silver eyes meet her own.

"Morning."

"Huh…Good morning." Ruby yawned, stretching her arms gently. She got up, dragging her red cape behind her, making a soft rustling sound against the metal, her eyes barely open. She crawled onto the bed and cuddled up to Blake, who gasped slightly in surprise.

"Uh, hi,"

"Sorry, Blake, I want in on this snuggle fest."

Smiling gently, she allowed the small redhead to get in. Dropping her cape on the floor beside the bed, and crawled in between her and Yang as they all cuddled together, silence once again falling over them. Soon, the dim daylight grew steadily brighter. Yang whipped the thick blanket of her side of the bed, and got up from her side of the bed.

"Come on, we've got another long day ahead of us,"

**oo0oo**

"Hello Strangers!"

Yang smiled in the direction of the voice, which belonged to the shop owner, Moira Brown. A woman of average height and of a thin build, she wore blue overalls and had red hair a few shades lighter than ruby's, which was slung up in a lazy pony tail. Ruby ran up and hugged Moira.

"Hey little one! How are you doing?"

"I'm great, thanks, how are you?" Ruby replied, pulling away from the taller woman.

"I'm wonderful! I actually have something for you!"

Moira bent behind the counter and pulled out a box of sugar bombs, placing it into Ruby's eager hands. Anyone who knew Ruby well was aware of how much of a sweet tooth.

"THANKS MOIRA!" Rudy tore into the box and sat on the stair case as she started stuffing the golden sugar balls into her mouth.

Yang and Moira smiled at Ruby.

"You're welcome, Red,"

"Slow down there, Ruby. You don't want to get sick, and we got a long road ahead of us today,"

Moira turned to the blonde, who stood a head taller than her.

"Hello to you too, Yang," noticing Blake, she nodded towards her as well.

Blake turned away from perusing through Moira's very limited book collection for a second to smile gently at her, and then turned back to try and find a book that wasn't totally destroyed. Meanwhile, Ruby sat on the bottom steps of a staircase that led to Moira's quarters and continued to inhale the box of old world cereal. Moira turned back to Yang.

"So, how is business?"

"Business is good. Did a little bit of trading in Rivet city a few days ago,"

Moira nodded, her eyebrows slightly raised. Rivet city was a small city that was built inside the remains of a flight carrier, and was one of the few successful settlements within the capital wasteland. It was also in the middle of DC, and even though the brotherhood of steel's presence there helped make the city a little safer and Moira knew Yang, Ruby and Blake were more than capable of looking after themselves, it was still full of super mutants, remnants of the enclave, and other dangers.

"What about you? What's new?"

Moira shrugged.

"Not much, few new traders…oh! And I got this from a trader in New Vegas!"

She pointed up towards a fish that hung on a plaque above the door. It was a large salmon, made out of carved wood. Yang nodded in agreement, a large smile on her face.

"Me too. I think it looks fin-tastic. I'm totally hooked on it,"

Blake and Rudy groaned loudly, though Moira chuckled slightly, making Yang smile even more. This was one of the reasons why Yang liked Moira: she was one of the few people who could appreciate her puns.

"So, business good?"

"Indeed! You know how many people pass through Megaton, and with vault 101 open and wanting to trade with us, business is booming!"

This surprised Yang. Vault 101 was a nuclear shelter from the old world, and had been shut for countless years. Ever since the founding of Megaton, it has been something of a local myth. It seemed a bit odd to her why they would leave the comfort and safety of that place, but Moira wasn't one for lying. As if on queue, two men in vault security armour with "101" etched in yellow on the front and back of the suits came striding through the door.

"Afternoon, Ms Brown. We're here to pick up our order,"

"Order? I don't remem- OH YES! It's all here!"

Moira picked up a small crate which rattled from the contents inside. The security guard who spoke dropped a small bag full of caps onto the counter.

"Thank you, Ms. Have a lovely day, ladies," the security guard said, tipping his helmet slightly towards Yang and the other girls before picking up the crate with the help of his comrade. Moira turned back to Yang.

"Like I said, business is good. Anyway, what can I help you with today?"

Yang sighed slightly. She enjoyed her conversations with Moira, but she knew she was still a customer, and Moira still had a shop to run.

"Yes, I need some shotgun shells for my two ballistic fists, some 50mg calibre rounds, some food, water and 10mm rounds"

"I can get that for you right away,"

"Thanks Moira!"

Moira went behind the shop, hearing rustling from Moira looking for bullets and all the other items. Yang looked at her gauntlets, smiling with pride. Ember Cecilia. Normal ballistic fist models were black with a small double barrel on the top. Yang's had three double barrels and were painted a vibrant yellow. Unlike most old world weapons, which were usually damaged from repeated wear-and-tear, Yang always kept her gauntlets in perfect condition, even going as far as to polish the metal and repaint it occasionally. They were a gift from her father. She smiled sadly, remembering her old man… and Ruby's stepfather

"You know… There are a lot of people who would love to have a weapon like Crescent Rose!" Moira shouted out. Yang wasn't sure whether it was aimed at her or Ruby. The sisters both retorted at the same time.

"It's not for sale!"

The sisters looked at each other sadly. Just like Ember Cecelia was a gift from her father, Ruby's sniper scythe was a gift from her stepfather, and she took care of it with as much love and affection as Yang did with her weapons. Both girls remembered him with sad fondness. Ruby spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

"I can make up a copy of the schematics if you want though!"

Moira popped out carrying the goods Yang ordered, her usual happy smile still clear on her face. Before she could even answer, Ruby took out an A5 piece of blue paper from Yang's bagpack, and placed it on a nearby work bench, setting down to work.

"That would be great, Ruby! I've got thirty two 50mg calibre rounds, a hundred shotgun rounds for your gauntlets, and a hundred and fifty 10mm rounds for you guys. That'll be 750 caps please, Yang."

"OH! And this, please." Blake planted an almost undamaged copy of Paradise Lost on the counter.

"800 caps then."

Yang nodded. Then she remembered about their pack Brahmin.

"I actually have some goods outside. Give me ten minutes, and we can do a little bit of trading?"

Moira nodded excitedly, and Yang made towards the Brahmin left outside Megaton, eager to get rid of some of their unneeded goods, hearing a conversation beginning between Blake and Moira as she began walking out.

"So, how is that book going, Moira?"

"I FINISHED IT! Some guy from vault 101 helped me do my research-"

**oo0oo  
**  
"Ok, so that's three hunting rifles, some clothes and a few frag grenades. Yeah, that should cover the cost, Yang. You enjoy those books, Blake, and tell me what you think of the wasteland survival guide."

Moira decided to see them off just as they adjusted the possessions on the pack Brahmin. Yang and Blake nodded.

"Oh wait!"

Ruby ran to one of the side bags on the Brahmin and pulled out the copy of blue paper that was Crescent Rose's copied weapon schematics. She took the rolled up paper and handed it to Moira

"As promised."

Moira looked down, mouth agape in clear shock.

"You sure? Is this you only-?"

Ruby shook her head, smiling.

"No, I needed to make up a spare copy anyway,"

Moira hugged Ruby tightly.

"Thank you so much! You-this means so much to me, thank you! When will you guys be back?" This time, she pointed the question to Yang, as she was the one who called the shots when it came to travelling.

"I don't know. Maybe a few monthes.

"Well, remind me I owe you one."

Yang nodded, smiling. It was nice to see Ruby's kindness helped out…that and her dad's old habits. Shaking away the thought, she started to head off, but not before shaking Moira's hand.

"Always a pleasure, Moira."

"Likewise." Smiling, Moira pulled Yang into a hug, which she accepted.

"Stay safe, it's a tough, unforgiving world out there, kiddo."

Her smile turning into sadness. She knew all to well. Pulling away, she put on a smile before pulling away.

"Til the next time"

Moira smiled sadly, and waved to the group, then headed back in. She had lost too many friends to this world, and she hoped this wouldn't be the last time she saw Ruby, Blake or Yang. The convoy started to head off. Yang pulled up next to Ruby, ruffling her hair.

"That was a sweet thing you did for Moira, Rubes,"

Ruby smiled up at Yang.

"You should thank your dad, It's because of him I could help Moira."

Yang pulled a shoulder around her younger sister's shoulder.

"_Our_ dad."

**oo0oo**

"Yang, Ruby, you got to remember any modifications you make to those weapons, you got to add it to the schematics. Every single little detail you add onto Ember or Crescent, remember to add it"

The sisters nodded in comprehension.

"Good. And it might be a good habit to keep a spare copy. In case, you lose the original."

_(Notes: Notes: This is my first fan fiction story, it's is rough as hell, but I wanted to contribute something to the fandom. I also wanted to include the weapons, as I believe it is part of the character's identities. This is an edited copy, as I was making two chapters into one. Anyway, stay tuned for more, guys!)_


	2. Chapter 2: On the road again

_(Summary: A typical day encountering the normal duties of the job, as well some of the dangers that come along with it. A whole lot of plot and a major character introduction)_

"Pleasure doing business with you" Yang shook the hand of the small woman. She wore a red jumpsuit with a bandana to match. She shook Yang's hand firmly, a firm smile on her face. Despite the huge sentry bot that whirled threatening around the small town, Yang felt at ease in this town, watching the other residents go about their daily business.

"Name's Red. And no problem, I should be thanking you, traders rarely pass through here, this is the first chance we've had to trade in a while."

Ruby and Yang looked at each other, both furrowing their brows, both their curiosities raised.

"Why's that?" Ruby asked.

"Well, between the raiders everywhere, Super Mutants up the road, and the slavers at Paradise Falls, it isn't exactly the safest place, heh"

Ruby looked at Yang, her curiosity replaced now with clear concern. Yang, however, grinning slightly. The past few days had passed without incident, and while that was good and all…Yang got bored, and this was amazing news. The best thing about raiders, super mutants AND slavers? You don't feel bad beating the hell out of them. She looked back at her little sister, her smile slightly diminishing. She didn't want to do anything to put her little sister or love in danger.

"Why do you think we have the sentry bot?" Said Red, laughing slightly. Yang smiled back. That made more sense now, its presence now seeming more comforting than threatening. Yang stroked her chin thoughtfully. Though this was not her first time visiting Bigtown and being somewhat familiar with the capital wasteland, she still wanted to know what she was getting herself into.

"Which way is Paradise Falls?"

Red pointed towards the north.

"The muties?"

North-west.

"The raiders?

Red pointed in between the two. Yang sighed in frustration. North meant putting Ruby and Blake in danger, but South meant retracing their steps, going back where they just came from. Yang ran a hand through her golden mane thoughtfully. She looked to Ruby, who looked back at her, shrugging slightly, then looked at the group of rocks where she assumed Blake was hiding. She shouted for her to come down. This wasn't exactly a decision she could make alone, not when it put others at risk.

**oo0oo**

"So you see my problem?" Yang spoke to Blake, after having explained the whole situation from within the main building of Bigtown, as the whole group was crowded around a fire. Ruby sat wrapped up in her cape, while Blake stroked her chin thoughtfully. She weighed the options. Even though going back and finding an alternate route seemed like the safer option, she agreed with Yang that it was also the most time consuming. It would mean having to go back, spending more time finding a different route spend more caps on more supplies, more food, more water when they could be using that time and money elsewhere.

"If we run into trouble, we'll deal with it,"

Blake and Yang turned towards the direction of the voice, slightly surprised, straight into the glittering silver eyes that belonged to Ruby. Ruby looked up from the weak flames with a warming smile, first at Yang, then to Blake.

"I mean, we always do,"

Blake and Yang smiled softly down at her, though Yang still wasn't sure. Granted, Ruby was old enough to look after to look after herself, and a more-than capable fighter, but Ruby would always be her baby sister. Worrying about her was her job, her responsibility. Poking at the flames with a stick that strayed from the inferno, she spoke up again, a tone of finality in her voice.

"I say we go north,"

Yang nodded, and then looked to Blake, flashing a smile. Blake met her eyes, smiling back and raising her eyebrows slightly, expecting her to say something

"Looks like it's up to you, Blake,"

Blake shrugged, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear, sighing softly.

"It does seem the most efficient way"

Yang nodded slowly. Getting up onto her feet, she gave a single nod, wiping off the dirt from her trousers.

"Guess that's that settled then."

**oo0oo**

The three girls were getting ready to head out. Ruby was checking crescent rose, making sure the barrel of the rifle was clean, and that her beloved weapon was fully prepped for action. If there was going to be any trouble, Ruby wanted to be ready for it. Yang made sure to check that the straps on the bags attached to the Brahmin were secure. Satisfied with her work, she saw Blake, checking her trusty silenced sniper rifle and Gambol Shroud. Satisfied, she was about to head off and hide by a set of rocks away from the group, but not before Yang caught her arm. Blake looked at Yang. She seemed worried.

"Yang, what's wrong?"

"Blake…" Yang turned to Ruby, then back to Blake.

"I don't know about this, Blake. I don't feel good sending you or Ruby into this,"

Blake furrowed her brows slightly.

"Yang, we deal with danger all the time,"

Yang sighed slightly, breaking eye contact with Blake for a second.

"I know, but it doesn't mean I like it. What if something happens to you? Or Ruby? What if one of you gets hurt? Or killed? I don't know what I would do with you,"

Blake kissed her girlfriend hard. Not to shut her up, but to comfort her. She then pulled back, stroking a stray tear from Yang's cheek, pulling the blonde into a tight embrace.

"We'll be ok, Yang. You know this." She muttered silently, then chuckled slightly.

"Do you remember about Ruby and the deathclaw?"

"How can I forget?" Yang smiled at the memory. She pulled away, looking at her lover.

"I just worry, you know? I don't want to lose you. Either of you," Yang uttered, as Blake stroked Yang's cheek gently again.

"And you won't, don't worry" Blake smiled, before she walked off to the rocks again. Yang jogged slowly to catch up to Ruby and the Brahmin, who already started slowly northbound. Beaming, she ruffled her little sister's hair, remembering of her exploit against the deathclaw. In the moment, it was terrifying. In hindsight, it was one of the proudest moments Yang felt for her sister.  
It was just a normal day, travelling between towns, when a giant deathclaw came out of nowhere. In a single swoop of its hand, it knocked Blake and Yang out of the way. Rarely anyone survives a deathclaw charge; it was a miracle Blake and Yang survived at all. But just as it turned to claw Ruby, in one elegant motion, Ruby stepped out the monster's way and twisted her scythe in a full circular motion, slicing the beast clean in half from the hip. It was up to her to carry a wounded Blake and Yang to a doctor single-handedly.

Yang had never been prouder to call Ruby Rose her sister.

And to call Blake Belladonna her lover.

It was an achievement for most to survive to adulthood in the wasteland. It was another thing entirely to do it the way Blake did, and not lose their sanity. She was part of a tribe called the White Fang, a peaceful tribe out in Arizona. Until the legion came through that area, butchering the men, and the women and children…Well, the legion made it hard for Blake to grow up. When she was just ten, after years of tortuous abuse, Blake escaped with the help of her friend and guardian, Adam Taurus. Blake didn't remember what happened to him. Or at least, that's what she told Yang.  
Yang and Ruby's family found her one night, barely alive, skin and bone by a dirt road. Ruby's mother, Summer Rose, and the sisters take pity on her, and nursed her back to health. She had been with them ever since.

"Yang!"

Ruby's single yell snapped Yang out of her thoughts to find four black silhouettes on the horizon. Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and kept it pointed at the men, while Yang tensed herself up, waiting for a confrontation. Instead, the strangers came closer reveal three men… And a woman. The men wore different outfits, but all of them were armed. Yang kept her attention to the men, while Ruby couldn't help but stare at the woman. She was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She wore the remains of a once beautifully made pale dress and even though her hair was filthy with dust and dirt, it was white like fresh snow. She had a sharp jaw, and beautiful features, with piercing pale blue eyes that shone out against a dirt ridden face. Then Ruby noticed her neck, which she discreetly pointed out to Yang. A metal collar.

Slavers.

The man at the front stepped out, walking at a faster pace than his comrades. He had short brown hair and a muscular form, with a small Chinese pistol poking over his belt, and a thin white rapier tucked on the other side of his beltt. He spoke for the group.

"Hello there," He said, swaggering towards the women, vain pride and arrogance oozing in each step he took. He looked Ruby up and down, then put his hand on the end of Crescent Rose, pushing the barrel down until the tip of the blade was in the ground and the end of the gun was pointed safely away from him..

"Why don't you put that down before you hurt someone, huh, red?"

Yang grimaced at this man. She didn't like the way he looked at her sister. She spoke out, hoping to distract the scumbag's attention away from her

"Excuse me, who are you?"

The man turned his attention to Yang, holding his hand over his chest.

"My sincerest apologies," he replied, in a tone which clearly showed how not sorry he was. He bowed down to Yang slightly.

"I seem to have forgotten my manners. Cardin Winchester, at your service. And you are?"

"Yang, and this is Ruby," Forcing a smile, she moved closer to Ruby, placing a protective hand on her sister's shoulder, ready to defend her at the first sign of trouble.

"I see. And your traders, huh?"

"Yes"

Cardin chuckled slightly, his thick eyebrows raised, running on of his hands through his hair.

"Well, perhaps we can trade! How about…you give us all your stuff…and we will let you pass? Unharmed."

Yang let out a single forced laugh. Wow, she thought, aren't you as blunt as a brick? She pulled Ruby close her side, while her other hand was ready to lash out.

"Hmmm, I don't think so,"

Cardin lost his smile. He went and grabbed the girl who had a collar around her neck. Ruby could see her better now. She noticed a thin scar, cutting vertically down the girl's left eye.

"Now, now, now, Yang. You don't want your sister to end up like this one here do you?" He grabbed the poor girl's cheek and kissed her cheek forcefully. She didn't even protest, her face contorted into a mask of pure anger and hatred.

"She's a pretty one, just like your Ruby. Would fetch a nice price among sellers. Now unless you want us to hurt you and Ruby here, I suggest you cut the bullshit and give us all you got. Now."

As if on queue, Cardin pointed his pistol at Yang while his two friends raised their rifles. Yang allowed one side of her mouth to bend upwards.

Oh boy, Yang thought. You fucked up.

A slight muzzle flash out the corner of her eye signalled that Blake had taken the shot. Less than a second later, the two men with rifles hit the ground, their blood spraying across the ground, then spilling steadily onto the dirt around them. They didn't even scream. Cardin turned to see what had happened, and Yang used this distraction to her advantage. She pulled her hand away from Ruby and pushed the prisoner of Cardin's reach and used her other hand to punch the pistol out of his hand, simultaneously blowing up his fist in the resulting shotgun blasts. Cardin crashed to the ground, screaming out in pain as blood poured rapidly from his wound. Yang kicked Cardin head viscously, knocking him out instantly.

"No one threatens my sister, you pig,"

Ruby went over to Cardin, and started searching his pockets, carefully avoiding looking at his destroyed limb. When she checked his jacket pocket, she found what she was looking for: the key for the collar. She walked slowly to the girl who now stood up, dusting herself off and looked up to see Ruby approaching her.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," Ruby whispered softly, despite the prisoner not making any protest. She looked up at this poor girl, stopping herself when she saw her eyes.

"Could you please stop gawking at me? I have a bomb on my neck and wouldn't mind it off right now, you dolt," She spoke in a hard, harsh tone.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Ruby stopped herself, not talking that jab at her personally. After all, Ruby thought, if I had a bomb placed on my neck as well as not getting a bath, I'd be a little annoyed too.  
She unlocked the collar, which dropped to the floor with a dull clang. The white haired girl massaged her neck, a thick red mark contouring her neck. She strolled over to the body of Cardin and pulled the rapier out his belt and tucked into her own.

"I believe this is mine," She announced proudly, pointing it to Cardin. She then turned to Yang. She held herself up straight, and tilted her head slightly towards her, but Yang noticed her wobble slightly.

"Thank you, Ms Yang. I-" She lost her balance, but regained herself.

"-I wanted to thank you-"She says the last word longer than the others, toppling over. Ruby rushed over and caught her before she could hit the floor. She could feel the girl's weak breaths. Passed out. Ruby turned to her sister, who nodded, understanding in her eyes. There was no way they were going to leave this girl alone.

**oo0oo**

Night had settled upon the wasteland, and the girls had made camp a few miles away from where they met their attackers, carrying the girl on top of the pack Brahmin. When they decided to make camp, Ruby took it upon herself to look after this girl, as Blake took the first watch and Yang fell asleep. She was just beginning to nod off herself, when she noticed the girl she saved stirring.

"Whe- wher-?"

Ruby rushed over to the girl, grabbing a bottle of water and some food. She sat down next to her, and lay the girl's head in her lap.

"Where-where am I?" She uttered meekly. Ruby tucked her fringe away and twisted the cap off the water.

"It's ok, you're safe. Here, take some of this," she held the rim of the bottle to the girl's pale lips, tilting her head slightly to drink the water with less chance of spilling it. Ruby poured the water slowly and gently into her mouth, and the girl in her lap swallowed gently. When she drank the last drop, she took the remainders of a steak she had for dinner, conveniently cut into small, chewable chunks. She took a fork and plopped the first piece into her mouth, which was accepted gratefully. After the girl swallowed, she finally spoke again, her voice slightly more clearly.

"How long was I out for?"

"A couple of hours, I'd say," Ruby took another bit of steak again and put it in the girl's mouth, who chewed and wallowed it gently each time. My god, you're beautiful, Ruby thought. She looked intently upon this girl, making sure to look away every so often to avoid staring. When the steak was finished, Ruby took the other girl's head off her lap, and adjusted a bundle of clothes to serve as a pillow, and whipped her cape off, and covered the other girl like a blanket, who whispered again.

"Why did you help me? You don't even know who I am,"

Ruby didn't look up. Instead, she focused on tucking the girl in, the way her mother used to do.

"It was something we had to do. People aren't meant to be slaves," Ruby whispered. She then lay down in her own makeshift bed, turning to face the other girl, who was already falling asleep.

"What is your name?"

The white haired girl turned to face Ruby, hesitating at first.

"Weiss. Weiss Schnee,"

Ruby nodded her head, smiling. She lay her head against the pillow. Weiss, what a lovely name.

"Well, good night,"

Weiss soon followed Ruby into a slumber, muttering the name she vaguely remembered hearing before sleep took her.

"Good night, Ruby,"

_(Notes: FINALLY GOT THIS BITCH SHELLED OUT! I'm sorry, I was feeling inspired. As you can see, I finally incorporated Weiss into the story, which I'm very excited about, I can't wait to write more about her. I feel kinna bad because I have been focusing on Yang the first two chapters and haven't given much attention to Blke and Ruby, so I wrote some of their backstories of this AU to give their charcter'sa little more development. Also, I wanted to a protagonist that wasn't just a nameless danger, which is why I wrote Cardin into the story, however short lived he is. Please enjoy guys, and Adios!)_


	3. Chapter 3: Leaving the capital

He was dead. He knew he was going to die. When Cardin woke up after his fight, he felt dizzy and nauseous, his vision blurry. He tried to move his arm, but stopped when he heard a slight splash. He then realized that his arm and the side of his body were wet, he turned to look down.

Blood.

Then he noticed his arm and where his hand should have been. It was his blood. He fell back down, giving up on trying to prop himself up. He tried to scream out in pain, but his Adam's apple refused to let anything escape. He was dead. That blonde bitch, Yang, had killed him. He fell back on to the ground, allowing the darkness to swallow him.

He awoke again, but fell back when he felt the splitting headache. He noticed a shadow that hovered over him. The shadow stepped into the dim light. He was a tall muscular black man who wore a red suit with a black shirt, and had short greying hair.

"You're lucky that Sammy's crew found you when they did,"

Eulogy.

Fuck.

"Where is the girl?"

Cardin started to sweat slightly.

"Look, boss-"

"Where is the girl?" Asked Eulogy again, just as patient as the first time he asked

"We- we lost her, we got jumped and – AHHHHHHHHH!" Cardin whispered, then suddenly screamed out in pain when the lead slaver dug his fingers deep into his blown off wrist, twisting sinew and muscle violently.

"What do you mean, you lost her?" Eulogy Jones asked, his tone unchanged, not flinching as Cardin twisted and screamed out in pain.

"SOME BITCH ATTACKED US! WE COULDN'T – FUCK AHHHHHH!" Cardin yelled out in pain as Eulogy clawed deeper into his arm, slowly, but surely. Cardin thought he saw him smile.

"I CAN FIND HER! I CAN FIND HER!" Cardin yelled out, hoping for anything to stop the pain. Surprisingly, Eulogy stopped twisting his fingers, looked at Cardin, his eyebrows raised. He pulled his fingers out of the wound, wiping the blood off Cardin's shoulder, never breaking eye contact with him. Gasping in pain, Cardin whispered to Eulogy.

"They…They seemed to be heading north. I'll...I'll bring her back to you, boss"

Eulogy smiled slightly. If anyone could find anyone, it was Cardin. That boy had brought him more slaves than the rest of the group outside combined. Yet, he still pulled out his scoped magnum and held it between Cardin's eyes. But he didn't pull the trigger.

"You have a day to gather up what you need and who you need. If I don't have her back here in two months, I'll kill you. If I found out that she is dead , I will send you up to the Pitt in her place. So you see Cardin, you are going to have to work very hard to stay alive. Do I make myself clear?" Said Eulogy. Cardin nodded frantically, his eyes still focused on the end of the barrel. Eulogy flashed a huge grin, tucking his revolver back into its holster.

"I'll…I'll find her," Cardin gasped.

"That's the spirit, boy! Now come on, the sooner you get ready for the job, the sooner you can find Mrs Schnee! Happy hunting, Cardin!" Eulogy patted Cardin's shoulder before walking back out into the compound, as Cardin sighed loudly, rubbing his face with his only hand. What the hell did he get himself into? He didn't want to die, but he heard of what they did to slaves in the Pitt. What if he couldn't find Weiss? Maybe he could make a run for it? He shuck that thought from his head. The slavers were all over the wasteland. No matter how long or how hard he ran, Eulogy's boys would always find him. Finally, Cardin hoisted himself out bed. Looks like he had no options.

Maybe it would've been better if he bled out in the desert.

**oo0oo**

_Flames. Flames everywhere. Ruby hid into Yang's chest as the she ran hard. She peeked over her shoulder, wanting to know what was going on._

"DON'T LOOK, RUBY! WHATEVER HAPPENS, KEEP YOUR EYES SHUT!"

Ruby woke up with a start, breathing heavily. It was a dream, only a dream. Then, she sniffed. Once, then three times. Was something cooking?

"Good morning, sleepyhead," said a smiling Yang, who was serving food to a waiting Weiss, still dirty and still wearing Ruby's cape from the previous night. Trying to not to scare her by staring too long, she turned her attention to what Yang was cooking. She had fabricated a spit which hung over a roaring fire, with steaks in different degrees of being cooked hanging over the intense heat. Ruby's mouth watered slightly.

Fat, juicy, Brahmin steaks.

She scrambled next to her sister, who plopped a rather large one onto a tin plate, which she gave to Ruby. Ruby gnawed at the steak, swallowing it ravenously. She looked up to find Blake a fair distance away, crouching on the balls of her feet. Yang smiled at her sister, then turned back to Weiss.

"So let me get this straight. Your father is one of the founding members of the gun runners in new Reno."

Weiss nodded, to Ruby and Yang's surprise. The gun runners were huge weapons dealers, their trade routes extending out even as far as old Ontario. Yang and Ruby understood. If what Weiss was saying was true, she was the child of one of wealthiest trading families in the wasteland. That also put a huge target on her back. Yang tried to put two and two together. The slavers must've jumped Weiss and tried to take her to Paradise falls. The one thing she couldn't understand was the distance: the gun runners were based in California. That was on the other side of the country.

"What are you doing so far west?"

"I ran away." Weiss blurted out, a hint of anger clear in her voice, as though Yang touched a sore spot. Yang nodded sadly. She knew things were hard in the wasteland for everyone, but she never could understand parents who hurt their parents. At least, that's what she assumed caused Weiss to run away from what she told her. However, she felt impressed by the new comer. Travelling alone to the capital wasteland all the way from California is no small feat, even if she got enslaved along the way.  
Yang turned her attention to Weiss's rapier, noticing something odd. If you just looked it, it looked like a normal blade. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the guard had a six shot revolver chamber, and the handle had a small trigger. Was it a gun as well? Yang smiled slightly to herself. The gun runners always made their own weapons, but this was the first of its kind that Yang saw.

"Hey Weiss, what's up with your blade?"

Weiss frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Yang reached forward slightly, holding her hand out, nodding towards her holstered weapon.

"May I?"

Weiss looked at her sword, then up to Yang. She shook her head, her eyes piercing Yang, who gave a slight tilt of the head. Even though they had saved her, she still didn't trust them. Yang could respect that. She didn't know them, and half a day ago, she was some slaver's poor cargo. Instead, Yang turned back to her cuisine.

"Would you like seconds?"

Weiss shook her head, though Ruby popped up from her plate, holding it out.

"Well, since you're offering…"

Yang rolled her eyes, and placed a rather large slab of meat on her sister's plate. She turned to the black silhouette in the distance, and shouted out to Blake.

"Hey Blake! You want more, babe?"

Blake waved a single hand in dismissal, not turning away from her rifle. Yang sighed, sliding the remaining hunk of meat onto her plate, which she tucked into, eating slowly to savour the flavour. Ruby peeked up from cutting her own slice, turning to look at Weiss, and smiled gently, Weiss turned away to look in the opposite direction. Ruby's smile dropped little, eating her meal with less fervour, wondering what she had done wrong. Really, Weiss did it only to hide her slightly coloured cheeks.

**oo0oo**

They headed off back down the road, wondering down the destroyed paths and motorways, monuments of a by gone age. Yang and the group tried to stay off the roads as often as they could. Despite making the whole act of trekking across the wastes slightly easier, they learned from experience that going cross country against the wilderness meant encountering less trouble. Ruby decided to walk alongside Weiss. Though she felt safer by Yang's side, the new addition to the group was intriguing to her. Weiss allowed her too, though Ruby felt her presence was merely an annoyance. Finally, for the first time since last night, Ruby spoke to Weiss.

"W- Weiss?"

"What?" Weiss snapped at Ruby. Watching Ruby wince slightly, she realized she may have spoke with a harsher tone than she wished. Ruby looked up at her sadly.

"Do you not…like me?"

Weiss was taken aback by this, mouth opened up in slight shock and surprise. Of all the things she expected to come out the small redhead, this was low on her list, maybe even on the bottom.

"I don't even know you."

Ruby looked down, watching her feet, which she used to kick up dust gently, her pale cheeks now flaring up to a bright shade of pink.

"I know. It's just… You seem nice, and I just don't like being annoying to other people,"

Weiss shook her head slightly, a small smile appearing which she quickly put away.

"You're fine, Ruby,"

Ruby looked up, muttered "ok" and walked ahead, slight confusion playing through her mind. How did she..? Then she remembered when they first met. How Yang had held Ruby close when the traders came.

_"Yang, and this is Ruby,"_

Ruby smiled slightly. She remembered my name, she thought absent mindedly. Weiss looked at the small redhead, whispering to Ruby, but low enough so her words could be blown away in the wind.

"You're fine,"

**oo0oo**

"Alright, boys. About half a day ago, some of us got attacked by a bunch of traders. Now, these were my men, and the girls that killed those men. My friends. They are gonna pay. We are looking for Weiss Schnee. I don't care who she is, I only care that the boss man wants her. She will be with a small redhead called Ruby, and a tall blonde called Yang. They'll be travelling with a Brahmin. Now, they also have a third member of the group, a sniper, so be careful. These ladies have high class weaponry and they know how to use it. The boss has agreed to a 100,000 caps reward each to those who can bring her here alive and unspoiled. You got that? Ok, boys! LET'S ROLL OUT!"

_(Notes: Hey guys! Anyway, like I said in the last chapter, I wanted Cardin to be a real threat to the group, so I obviously he's back. Also, Eulogy is one of my favourite baddies in any game, so I wanted him to make a little cameo. It is a little rushed, a bit shorter than I wanted it to be and I wasn't sure how to go about doing this chapter, so I am sorry. Though I definitely wanted to begin on working on ruby and Weiss's relationship. I won't be able to post as often as I like, so I apologize as well. Anyways, please enjoy, perhaps tell me what you think (?) and adios!)_


	4. Chapter 4: Thoughts and Theories

"Ok, I think that's the last of them." Yang called out to the rest of group, sighing heavily. She wiped the thick layer of sweat which had accumulated on her forehead. This was the hardest workout I've had in a while, she thought to herself. She bent down to pick anything of value off the raider. Patting the side of his hip, she felt something hard and rummaged out his pocket. A few 10mm rounds.

"Hmm. Blake might want these."

" I might want what?"

Yang turned around, finding Blake walking towards her, to her pleasant surprise. Usually, she stayed up in any sniper perch she could find, but when they were ambushed, Blake ran down to join in the fight.

"Um…just some rounds for your gun" Yang scratched the back of her head, not sure what to say as she handed the few bullets to her. Blake smiled a little. Not exactly a romantic gift, but after the raider ambush, her ammo count was beginning to dwindle.

"Thank you."

"No problem," Yang smiled, and then she thought a bit, realizing she wanted to say more.

"Ugh, Blake?" Yang called out softly to the raven haired woman, who turned back to the tall berserker.

"Mm hmm?"

"I was wondering if you could, ugh, maybe, stay close to the group for a while. With me." Yang ran her hand through the back of her hair, nervously. Blake raised an eyebrow slightly, not sure what to make out of Yang's request.

"Is something wrong?"

"NO! Nonono, nothing is wrong. It's just…I rarely see you these days. I know you are protecting the group and you like being alone, I get that, honestly. It's just…I only see you at meals. And I guess I…I miss you" Yang's mouth ran at a hundred miles, only slowing down for the last three words. Blake took a moment to register these words, which Yang mistranslated as shock, making her look down shamefully.

"I know, it's your job to protect the group, I guess I just-"

"Ok."

"Wait, what?"

Blake shrugged, her black hair fluttering lightly against the wind, her golden eyes looking up into Yang's.

"You're right. I don't always have to be hidden away…and I guess I haven't spending a lot of time with you, and I want to make it up to you" Blake took Yang's hands, stood on the balls of her feet to reach Yang's mouth, and kissed Yang long and gently, pulling away to see her lilac eyes twinkling and her cheeks flushing.

"I love you, Blake."

"And I love you, Yang." Yang then wrapped her arms around Blake's waist, and pulled her girlfriend in for a longer kiss, feeling Blake wrap her arms around the back of Yang's neck. In that moment, everything was perfect. She didn't care about the two nosey pairs of eyes watching, or about the dead raiders that littered the ground. In those few moments, it was just them. Just Yang and Blake, and that was all that mattered.

**oo0oo**

Weiss and Ruby watched the whole event unfold from a safe distance away, a brief distraction from looting the bodies of the men they just fought. Ruby smiled cheerfully at them, leaning on Crescent Rose with its blade embedded in the dirt, while Weiss eyed them up with distaste…and perhaps a slight hint of jealousy.

"Ugh, are they always like that?"

"Nope. Well, not lately," Ruby answered. It was true. Though they had been inseparable ever since they found Blake, they seemed to be spreading apart lately. But this kiss meant they were getting better, it had too. Weiss tired to ignore the tragedy she heard in the redhead's voice went back to trying to pull out her bade from the raider's head she had impaled. Placing a boot on his head, she grabbed the handle with both of her hands, pulling with all her might, straining as she tried to continue talking with Ruby.

"Well…maybe…they should…be helping us!"

Ruby giggled. She couldn't help but notice that Weiss was being a little more talkative with her the past few days…and maybe even friendly. Pulling Crescent Rose out the ground, she folded the blade down until it touched the barrel and slung it over her back.

"Yeah, I hear you. You need a hand there, Princess?"

"No, it's fine. I got this!" Weiss protested, ignoring Ruby's new nickname. She tried pulling again, but her rapier refused to budge even a millimetre.

"Honestly, it's ok, I want to help" She wrapped her arms around the top of the handle, ignoring Weiss's protests. When she realized that Ruby wasn't going to leave her alone, she decided to use it to her advantage.

"Fine then. On the count of three?"

"Yeah,"

"Ok, then." Weiss kneeled slightly, her grip tightening around the handle. Ruby mimicked her movements, adjusting her position so she could get better leverage, nodding once to Weiss when she felt that this was the best way to pull.

"Ready? One. Two. THREE!"

With their combined strength, Weiss's rapier slid out the ground and the raider's skull with a sickening squelch. Not expecting it to come loose so easily, the two girls lost their balance, and fell to the ground, Ruby landing on top of Weiss. For a moment, they just lay there, staring at each. Ruby looked deep into Weiss's eyes, and Weiss stared back into Ruby's silver eyes. Remembering where she was, she brought herself back to reality.

"Get off me! Where's Myrtenaster?"

Ruby shook herself back down to earth.

"Myr what?"

"Myrtenaster!"

"Bless you,"

"Ugh, my sword, you dunce!"

Ruby looked around, and then looked down, laughing to herself a little, slapping her forehead with her right hand. Weiss looked up at Ruby, snarling slightly, misinterpreting the laughter as being pointed towards her.

"What? What is it?" Weiss asked, annoyed. Ruby pointed down between them. The sword sat safely between them, the point of the blade sticking out between their legs. Weiss threw a still laughing Ruby off her, dusting herself off and tucking the blade back into her belt.

"It's not funny, Ruby! I could've accidentally shot you and stabbed you!"

"Oh come on, Weiss! It was pretty funny!" gasped Ruby, wiping away a single tear. Before Weiss could protest, Yang and Blake walked over to where Weiss was standing, chuckling slightly at the messy bundle on the floor that was Ruby. When Ruby finally caught her breath, Yang spoke up.

"Right, if you two love birds are quite finished, we need to get a move on. We need to get to get out of here, and fast. There's no telling how many more of them might come," Weiss was about to protest, but Blake and Yang picked up Ruby from the floor looked up to the nearby hills, backing back down the road cautiously, passing by a sign. In withering white lettering, it read:

"Welcome to Maryland."

**oo0oo**

The convoy travelled up a road that seemed to be abandoned. Even the only hint of man's presence was the broken tarmac against their feet. Not the skeleton of an old house, just the remains of trees, brown, dead grass and the road which spanned forever into the horizon. The girl's only companions to break the silence was the moaning of the Brahmin and the slight whistle of the wind. To people like Weiss, this seemed unnerving. But to Blake, Yang and Ruby, it was a mere comfort, a sure sign that they were on the right road. Weiss finally spoke out, nervous.

"Why are we here? There is nothing here"

"A couple of friends of ours live down the road a ways," Smiled Yang, thinking of the last time she saw Ren, Jaune, Pyrhha or Nora. They were about the same age as she was. They once rolled together as a larger trading convoy, until they decided that the nomad life wasn't for them, and settled out in Maryland.

"Who in their right mind would want to live out here?" Weiss said, now tense, as though expecting some unforeseen threat would appear from the slim woods and strike them down, which of course never did. This time it was Ruby who spoke up.

"What? You wouldn't want to live here?"

"NO! Would you?"

"Its kinna peaceful," Ruby smiled. However, Weiss had different ideas. Yeah, how about you replace peaceful with creepy? Thought Weiss. REAL creepy. Yang, on the other hand, secretly grinned, agreeing with her sister in thought. They hadn't run into any trouble since the raiding party, and Yang thought it was nice to do what her old friends did. Set up shop with the people you loved the most, and just spend the rest of your days with them. She turned to Blake, then Ruby. That seemed like nothing, but beautiful perfection to wake up every day and not have to worry about the world around you. Much.

"I'm sorry, Weiss. I'm gonna have to agree with Rubes here. Traders hardly pass through here, which means that any of the houses you find are probably untouched, which isn't too bad for business,"

"Like that house over there?"

Yang looked back, to see the charred remains of a farmhouse she knew too well. The group suddenly picked up their pace when they saw the familiar home of their friends. Knocking on the door, it was soon answered by a tall, lanky, dark haired man, with pink eyes. He smiled with a small, but genuine grin.

"Hello Yang"

"Hey Ren, long time"

Ren gestured inside, allowing his new guests in.

"Come on in. You're just in time for dinner. Nora's cooking some of her famous mole rat steaks"

**oo0oo**

Weiss held her stomach tightly, groaning in pain. While Nora Valkryie was an amazing cook, she may have been too generous when serving Weiss her food. She didn't want to turn it down: she was always told to finish everything that was put on her plate. Yet here she sat, two hours later, with her stomach painfully filled to the brim.

That's when she heard it.

At first, she thought it was something she heard by accident, a figment of her imagination. But then she heard it again. It was coming from the couch opposite her. Ruby squirmed and mumbled in her sleep, occasionally letting out a soft groan or slight whimper. Weiss wanted to go and wrap her arms around her, anything to help the poor girl. It kept on going. Eventually, she had had enough. She picked herself up, and crouched next to Ruby, shaking her gently awake.

"Ruby…Ruby..."

"WHAT?! What?" Ruby snapped herself awake, breathing heavily, but slowing her breathing when she saw Weiss.

"You were having a nightmare," Said Weiss, masking her care for the girl with uninterested monotone. She looked into Ruby's large silver eyes, still half closed from sleep.

"Was I? Um, I'm sorry."

Every fibre of her being wanted to touch the small redhead, though her mind was telling her how much of a bad idea that was. Then again, she had been wrong before. Her mind told her these people would betray her: instead, they took her under their wing, nursing her back to health and treating her like one of their own. So, just once, she decided to do something she never thought she'd do: she listened to her body and crawled in next to Ruby.

"Wha-Wha-?"

"Shhhh". Weiss tucked herself behind Ruby and wrapped her arms around Ruby's belly. Ruby, however, didn't protest Weiss spooning her, though part of her wanted to.

"Just in case you have nightmares again," Ruby heard from behind her.

What Weiss didn't know was that Ruby was –for once – not having a nightmare.

She was dreaming about Weiss

And it was a very good dream

**oo0oo**

A pair of binoculars eyed a vertibird approaching close to fort Bannister, dark grey against the midnight sky. Were it not for the Schnee family crest painted on the side of the vehicle, the bird would have been a burning wreck at this point. Instead, it landed in the courtyard, and a tall man with a midnight blue suit, short white hair and a neatly trimmed beard strolled out, flanked by two men in mark II advanced combat armour carrying large miniguns. He looked over to the slightly smaller solider who stepped up to him  
_  
_"Good evening, Mr Schnee. I trust you had a pleasant flight?"

"Skip the pleasantries, grunt. I am here to say your employer. Where is-"

"Right this way, sir," said the mercenary, his face unchanged by Mr Schnee's rude demeanour. They walked across the courtyard, passing sentries on the walls and soldiers firing at test dummies, through countless airlock doors, passing more frequent patrols until they reached the main office of Talon Combat Company.

"You have permission to enter, but your guards don't," stated the solider, his voice still unchanged, not showing any hint of emotion. Mr Schnee waved his hand, signalling his bodyguards to do as he said. With the swipe of a key card and the hiss of the doors opening, Mr Schnee finally stepped into the office of the commander's office. Straightening himself up, he spoke to the back of the damaged leather chair.

"Good evening. I shall get straight to the point. I have a contract for you. A few days ago, my daughter was kidnapped. I'm not sure by whom, but all that matters is that I get her back. If you accept this contract, I will pay you handsomely. 200,000 caps to prepare for this assignment, and an extra million upon the completion of the contract. If Weiss is dead, the contract is null and void. Do you accept this?"

The chair swivelled around to reveal a beautiful woman in a black dress. She had long, black hair and piercing amber eyes, the colour of fire.

"Of course, Mr Schnee. I'll have my best team, including myself, take care of this, as soon as possible"

Mr Schnee slid a photo of his daughter, Weiss Schnee, which the woman picked up delicately.

"Don't disappoint me, Cinder."

_(Notes: Im sorry guys. Between moving into my new flat, and deciding between multiple plots, this chapter took longer than I expected, though I am happy about where the story is going. I wrote a different plot posted but then I realized it was kinna stupid, so I redid this chapter a little. I also wanted to develop Bumblebee and white rose as lovers, since it's something I want to happen but I haven't been focusing much attention to it. I'm sure you guys will like this chapter better now that I've edited it. Also, the last paragraph was supposed to be the beginning to chapter 6,but hey, this will give you something to look forward too. I still hope you guys enjoy it. Tell me what you think. Adios!)_


	5. Chapter 5: Finding the trail

The grey light stirred Yang from her sleep, She moved to get up but stopped when she remembered her girlfriend had her arms around her. She moved herself back gently so she could be closer, careful not to wake Blake. She felt warm lips suddenly kiss the back of her neck. Yang smiled gently, feeling slight goosebumps raise all over her skin.

"Good morning, Blondie," muttered Blake, her soft voice still laced with the lingering hints of sleepiness. Yang turned around, slipping her arms around the smaller woman's waist, while Blake nuzzled her head into Yang's chest. Yang kissed the top of her head, and put her chin on top of her head.

"Hey beautiful," Yang felt her girlfriend's cheek raise from smiling slightly. She stroked her girlfriend's bare back, a traditional routine for the rare times of snuggling. Though Yang loved to travel, she relished every moment when they shacked up in a motel or crashed with a friend. Between keeping watch at nights and Blake being away from the group, they rarely enjoyed each other's presence out on the road, so time they spent together was worth more than all the gold in the world to them.

"Yang?"

"Hmmm?

"Maybe…we should stay here for a while."

Yang smiled at the thought. They haven't had much R and R for a long time. Besides, she never kept to a schedule: any regular customers they had knew not to wait on Yang. She held her girlfriend tighter, whispering gently.

"I'm sure Ren wouldn't mind,"

**oo0oo**

When Ruby woke up, she didn't remember that the beautiful young woman who had consumed her every thought for the past few days was hugging back, clinging to her like a baby lemur holding on to its mother. When she tried to sit up, she felt Weiss's arm push against her side, accidentally waking the young woman suddenly from her slumber.

"Oh shi- I'm sorry, Weiss," Said Ruby gently, hoping not to make the situation any worse. Weiss groaned slightly, rubbing her head against the arm rest of the sofa. Ruby lay back on the couch, to Weiss's secret happiness. Weiss pretended to fall asleep, tightening her arms so that Ruby was forced to move closer. Silently, the girls each savoured each other's presence in silence, memorizing the feeling of having the other pressed against them. They both thought that it was stupid to play with the idea of them being a couple, unaware of each other's feelings.

**oo0oo**

Nora awoke suddenly, already full of life. She leant over and kissed her husband's head repeatedly, who gently groaned but smiled at Nora's lips on his skin, the curvature of his mouth growing only wider with each different point of contact. He finally turned around, pinning Nora down to the bed, causing her to wriggle and writhe and giggle at the feeling of Lie on top of her, only stopping when he bent down to kiss her. She ran her hands up her love's muscular back. He pulled away, smiling at the young girl's happy face.

"Come on, we need to get up,"

Nora made a forced sad face, looking down, but internally smiling. She knew Lie couldn't resist that look without the need to kiss her. However, this was a rare occasion, as Lie got up from bed, but Nora still had one last plan. She quickly leaned over, and grabbed her husband's hand, pulling him back so he fell on top of her. However, instead of being grumpy, he gave a deep chuckle, and kissed Nora's forehead, much to the girl's delight. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Five more minutes…Please?" Nora did her trademark sad face, trying to coax Lie to her bidding. He rolled his eyes, and smiled, lying down and cuddling into Nora.

"Fine, but only five. I'm keeping count," Lie lied, instead enjoying the small, warm body that belonged to his life long friend and wife.

**oo0oo**

"So how do you guys know each other?" Asked Weiss, not particular aiming the question at anyone. They were all sat around a large rectangular table, each with tin plates and a fork and knife, while Nora danced around the table, sliding meat onto each of the plates, much like a housewife in old times. Yang smirked slightly when she noticed this. Old world blues, she thought to herself, suddenly turning her attention to Weiss.

"There used to be eight of us at one point. Some of us decided to split off and do their own thing," Yang stated. If it came from someone else, it might have been mistranslated as subtle malice, but everyone knew Yang. Yang didn't blame them for wanting to settle down. The life they led wasn't exactly for everyone.

"Well, what happened to the others? There are only five here"

"Two of our friends, Pyrhha and Jaune, originally moved in with us but decided to find somewhere else and settled down in California. Pyrhha became a ranger for the New Californian Republic, and Jaune enlisted as a solider. Said he wanted to be closer to her." Ren answered, smiling slightly. Though he knew Jaune wasn't cut from the same cloth as Pyrhha, he found something romantic about how Jaune did it to be close his wife.

"And number eight?"

"Have you ever heard of Sun Wukong?" Blake looked up from her plate, suddenly paying attention to the conversation. Yang noticed, but paid no heed towards her reaction. The two of them had been the best of friends for the longest time, and even though Yang knew Sun's feelings went beyond that of mere friendship, he kept it to himself and was always there for her. Yang smiled once again. If it wasn't for him, she wasn't sure if Blake would be sitting at the table with them. Weiss answered, her voice full of interest towards the name.

"Of course. He's the leader of the Wukong mercenary group. They try to wipe out raiders, mutants, slavers. But they also specialize in Intel gathering, mapping out areas for big corporations. Rumour has it he has been working with Reily's rangers."

"Well, that's our number eight"

Weiss felt pleasantly surprised. Despite her father refusing to deal with those "ruffians", Weiss had heard exploits of the Wukong mercenary group. It was no secret of that the mercenary group had intervened in scuffles between tribes and small wars, quelling conflicts as peacefully as they all could, saving the lives of countless people. Though their methods were sometimes unorthodox, they were among the most highly commended mercenaries throughout the wastes. Sadly, so were Talon company. Weiss internally cursed her father's business partners. They too were among famous paid soldiers-for-hire, but unlike Wukong, who tried to contain any of the flames of war before they could spread, Talon was more likely to pour gasoline on the flames. She shook her head, shaking loose the thought of them before they could destroy her mood, turning her attention back to Yang

"Is there any chance of meeting him?" Weiss asked, trying to keep her voice bland to hide her excitement at the possibility of meeting a man she admired.

"Of course, he is on the trade route. Speaking of which, Ren, do you mind if we stay? Just for a couple of days,"

Ren looked up, his eyebrows raised in surprise, but grinning widely, both he and Nora almost shouting in his excitement.

"NO!"

"NO!"

Ren straightened himself up, recomposing his posture, though Nora skipped around the room, ecstatic.

"I mean, ugh…yeah. Come on, you're family. But your Brahmin will have to stay outside,"

"Alright," said Yang, looking happily at her girlfriend, who smiled back at her. They needed a break…and she needed some loving.

**oo0oo**

Cinder sat in the vertibird, undeterred to the airship shaking violently from turbulence. She looked at her assault rifle, which sat loyally in her lap.

"We are touching down, Ms Cinder."

Cinder barely acknowledged the pilot and got up, walking towards the hatch that would open up to reveal the team she had hired. Granted, she had hired outside her own company, but this was a job that required finesse: there was no room for error on this job. She didn't need the extensive fire or bloodlust that her dogs of war had, she needed a more delicate touch. The ship landed, and the hatch opened up to reveal part of her crew.

"CINDER!"

A tanned woman almost tackled her, but she took the embrace with a smile, looking over her shoulder, at the girl's fluttering green hair.

"Hello Emerald. I trust you have been living comfortably?"

Emerald nodded. A long time ago, when Cinder was just a teenager, she found Emerald as a child, a pup looking for her mother. Cinder took her under her wing, breeding her into a fine young warrior. An eventual wise investment, she thought to herself. As compensation for her services, Cinder gave Emerald and her partner Mercury – who lingered behind Emerald, not stepping on board just yet – a large sum of caps and a home far from the reaches of society. A generous thank you for the wealth the two hunters brought her.

"I'm afraid I need you for this job."

"Hey, say no more. You know we are in." Emerald smiled at her mentor and friend. It was thanks to her she was alive. Cinder had given her and her friend Mercury purpose in life. Though she was a little sad she hadn't come for a social gathering, she swore a long time ago to do anything for her.

"Where is Neo and Roman?"

"Last I heard, Neo was hiding out in Rivet city, and Roman is all the way out in New Vegas," Emerald said, muttering slightly towards the end of her sentence, much to Cinder's disapproval. Typical. Roman was too attracted to the stench of wealth, and though Cinder was the one who technically let him retire, this put a slight hiccup in their plans. The crew wasn't complete without Roman, therefore the job couldn't be done without some risk of losing the contract. However, whereas Rivet city was a mere hop away with the vertibird, New Vegas was on the other side of the country, meaning it would take another couple of days before they could truly start the job. Still, this contract was too important to pass up. It needed to be done perfect.

"Get on board, we have a job to do."  
_  
(Notes: I'm sorry this took so long, but between my new flat mates moving in and a significant amount of writer's block, this was all I could come up with. I like it, I might come back and add more to it in the future, but I am happy with this chapter. I wanted a little break from action to both work on the Bumblebee romance and the secret want Weiss and Rose share each other, and also to allow some time to pass. Not sure if the romance part comes off well, I feel like it maybe a bit too short, but I think this story is going the way I want it to. Please enjoy, guys!)_


	6. Chapter 6: Closing in

Yang adjusted the bags on the Brahmin so that it was at no risk of falling off, but also so that the large beast could travel comfortably. Despite Yang's pleas, Nora had given her food and supplies for the road. While part of her was thankful for this, she still felt weird taking this from her friends: rarely many traders passed through, and they needed all they could get. Ruby, Weiss and Blake stood on the front porch, saying their farewells to Nora and Lie. Well, Ruby and Blake did. Weiss just stood there awkwardly. Even though Nora and Lie has accepted her as a new addition to their extended family, she still couldn't decide what to think of them - even when she accepted Nora's tight embrace and Lie's handshake.

"You take care now, you here?" Shouted Nora, aiming it at Yang. She nodded to her friend with a smile.

"You know I always do" replied Yang, with a smile and a wink. Checking a final strap on her Brahmin, she folded her arms and kept her eyes on the front porch, waiting for the remainder of the group to say their goodbyes. She didn't want to rush them: after all, she wasn't in a hurry and who knew when they would see them next? Nora and Lie were as much family to the group as Ruby and Blake were to Yang. Finally, Ruby, Blake, and Weiss turned to meet up with Yang. Ruby had a slight tear streak running down one cheek, Blake had a slight sad expression, and even Weiss turned to look back at the couple. Lie and Nora stayed on the porch until the four women disappeared into the distance.

**oo0oo**

Neo sat on the flight deck of the old carrier, breathing in the cold air of the morning. It was always part of her routine, her way of commencing the day. However, the sound of the wind wasn't her only companion this morning. The gentle whir of a vertibird's rotors caused her to turn her attention behind her. Against the steel grey mist of the morning, she noticed the black shadow flying across the sky towards her. The gentle breeze of the dawn turned into a slight gale as the shadow turned into a talon vertibird. It could only mean one thing: Cinder needed her. She smiled slight at the thought of her former employer. If it wasn't for the commander of Talon, Neo would probably be dead. Thanks to her, she was able to live in comfortable safety, no small feat in this world. In return, she would do certain contracts for Cinder, the rare ones. Jobs that didn't require the brunt force of a hammer, but the surgical precision of a scalpel. Neo walked close to the vertibird before it properly landed: rivet city security was going to be curious about their new guests, and Neo wanted to go before any problems could arise. The whir of the door opened up, revealing the slim figure of Cinder, her piercing eyes the only light in the soft darkness.

"Hello Neo,"

"Hello Cinder,"

"I hate to do this to you; an old friend, but I need your help."

Neo nodded, causing Cinder to smile, and then furrow her brow slightly.

"You ready to leave?"

Neo flicked her jacket to the wind, revealing two silenced .45 automatic pistols, painted in black, as well as a thin sword hanging off her belt. Neo didn't go anywhere without them. Though she rarely used them, experience told her it was better to have a weapon and not need it, than need it and not have one. Cinder nodded, and stepped aside, letting Neo pass by her. The door closed as Neo found her seat and buckled in. The vertibird is already in the distance by the time a security group run out onto the deck.

"So tell me about the job, Cinder,"

**oo0oo**

Cardin had been trekking for a couple of days now, only slight hints pointing out to where Yang and her convoy might be: an old campsite fire, footprints, anything that gave them away. But today, he had hit the jackpot.

Corpses. Lots of them.

These were just your average raiders: pent up junkies with an unnatural lust for sadism and murder. Cardin didn't care for their passing. For Cardin, collecting people was just a job, pure and simple business. He didn't enjoy making slaves out of people, but a man's got to do what a man's got to. If a person's freedom meant being sacrificed for his own survival, that was a price he could live with. Survival of the fittest. However, these assholes raped, pillaged, and murdered for pleasure. Scumbags. Then he started to look closely at the bodies. Some of them were sliced in half, stabbed, or filled with bullets holes. Nothing out of the ordinary in the wasteland. But one body in particular caught his attention. The body of a muscular man had small, deeps holes in close proximity to each other, as though he had been killed with a shotgun at point blank range. Cardin unhooked his armour, and found his suspicions confirmed: a large bruise was in the centre of the small circle of holes. Then he found another body with similar wounds.

And another.

And another.

Cardin grinned widely. Yang had been here. And if she had been here – with any luck - so had Weiss.

"HEY CARDIN! WHAT'S UP WITH THESE BODIES, MAN?"

Cardin looked up towards the direction of the voice, straight at Russell, a slim man with a pale coloured Mohawk and shaved sides, wearing a tank top and weathered camo trousers.

"WHAT YOU MEAN?"

"ALL THEIR SHIT IS GONE!"

This annoyed Cardin a little, but didn't surprise him. As well as a slaver, he also ran the weapon's shop at Paradise Falls ever since the original owner – a man named Pronto - died. He got most of his stock from the slaves he caught or raiding caravans, but he also occasionally got lucky and found new stock on corpses. It wasn't surprising that someone had already scavenged everything of value of them. He refocused on the task at hand.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! WE ARENT LOOKING FOR THEIR SHIT, WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE GIRLS WHO STOLE OUR STOCK!" And it didn't matter. Not now anyway. The only important thing was to get his hands on Weiss Schnee. If he couldn't find her, he wouldn't be running the "Lock and Load" anymore.

"OK, BOYS! WE KNOW THEY'VE BEEN HERE! THEY MUST'VE GONE THIS WAY!" Cardin started walking ahead, not caring whether they followed or not. Though he knew they were too greedy not to follow him – he was the only one who had the slightest clue where they were going - all he cared about was saving his own skin…and that meant finding Weiss. And if he could do to Yang what she did to her while he was it AND get the large sum of caps that his boss promised when he got Weiss back to Paradise Falls, it was all the more reason to keep going. He looked down at the stub where his hand should've been, filling himself with rage. He looked out into the distance, whispering his revenge.

"Yang, I will find you. I can promise you that, I will find you. And when I'm done with you, you're gonna wish you were dead."

**oo0oo**

The vertibird whirred loudly as it sped on through the air. Mercury and Emerald listened intently as Cinder explained the plan of attack to Neo. Though they had already heard this speech, it couldn't hurt to hear again. It would've been important if Cinder had asked them to do this. Neo listened intently as Cinder talked about how they needed to bring Weiss Schnee home safe and sound, her pink hair fluttering slightly. Finally, Cinder finished her speech to Neo and waited for an answer, even though she already knew what it was going to be.

"Well…I'm in" Neo announced.

"Great! We just need to head to New Vegas, to pick up your old partner." Cinder shouted over the noise of the engines. Neo smiled slightly at the thought: she had not seen Roman in years. She had wondered where he had been all these years, but unlike Cinder, she didn't have the resources to track him down, and she didn't bother to ask Cinder to send her men out to check. She had bigger fish to catch, and she was sure Roman had more important matters at hand.

"OK. Once again, I cannot stress to you enough the importance of this contract. The client giving us the biggest pay off in the company's history. Failure is not an option, and you know I will not tolerate it, even with people like you."

The three of them nodded, but felt a slight fear when Cinder said that last sentence. She said it in such a threatening tone. This is what unnerved them.

Cinder never made threats.

Cinder made promises.  
_  
(Notes: Sorry, guys, between going out with some friends last night and not knowing what to write, this chapter took a lot longer to write than it normally did, and is a little bit shorter than what I usually write. Might stop posting daily. If I'm going to post stuff, I don't want to feel like I'm rushing it. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it.)_


	7. Chapter 7: Escape

Cardin walked up the same destroyed tarmac road he had followed for days, his crew following him close behind. Despite the massacre of the raiders they saw the day before, there wasn't very many tell tale signs of Yang's trading caravan, and the slavers were beginning to lose morale. Then, a black shadow appeared from the grey fog of the early morning, the farmhouse that belonged to Lie and Nora, the same place his quarry was just a few days ago. All of a sudden, they heard the front door swing open and reveal Nora, stretching out on the porch, as was her usual routine in the morning. Russell and his comrade Dove raised their rifles, but Cardin forced them to stand down before Nora noticed: the last person he threatened blew his arm off, killed off his original crew and left him for dead. As he neared the house, he made his footsteps noticeably heavier, announcing his presence. Nora turned to her new guests and flashed a smile, though she kept a hand close to her lever action shotgun that was clipped to a leg of her trousers.

"Good morning, ma'am," said Cardin, doing a respectful little bow, and flashing a smile.

"Good morning," answered Nora, her smile widening, but not relaxing her stance. Before Cardin could speak again, Ren stepped out, his two signature weapons – turquoise painted 10mm submachine guns with knife blades welded to the barrel - in hand.

"Hello there," said Ren in an unwelcoming tone.

"Good morning, sir," smiled Cardin, his forced politeness strained with impatience, thankfully going unnoticed by Nora and Ren, who was tucking his guns safely away.

"I apologize for the weapons. Don't know who you are dealing with these days," Said Lie, easing up his voice to show a hint of friendliness.

"It's quite alright," Cardin said, still flashing a toothy, but artificial grin.

"Would you be willing to trade with us? We been on the road for days now, and we are quite hungry and haven't got much in the way of ammo" Said Cardin, in a false voice of pleading, hoping his charms would rub off on the couple.

"No, I'm afraid we can't, we traded a lot of our goods a few days ago, but if you keep going west, there is a trade caravan who would be more than willing to trade with you" announced Ren, unknowing of Cardin's true intentions.

"Thank you, where should we go to catch up with them?"

Ren pointed down the opposite end of the road Cardin and his men had been following.

"Just follow the road you came from. If you are lucky, you'll be able to catch up with them soon,"

"Thank you. Have a lovely day, sir, ma'am," said Cardin, doing a final mock bow, and led his men where Ren had shown them. When they were a fair distance away, Nora finally spoke again, her usual happy mood replaced with concern.

"They don't seem like your normal traders," muttered Nora.

"No, they don't" Ren agreed.

"But even if they are trouble, Yang will be able to deal with them. Come back in the house." Ren ushered his wife into the farmhouse, unaware that he may have doomed his friends…and himself.

"Should we kill them?" muttered Sky Lark, one of the other men Cardin had brought along for this job. The leader turned around, frowning.

"Sky, Sky, Sky! Don't you have any sense of integrity? That lovely couple just showed you the way to your next load of caps, and you want to kill them?" Cardin tutted, turning back around and focusing back on the road, an evil smile on his face.

**oo0oo**

The convoy sat on the edge of a cliff path, taking a break from travelling to have dinner. Ruby, Yang and Weiss sat around a dim fire, as Blake lay down by Yang's side, keeping an eye on the road through the scope of her rifle, though they had been there for a while and it didn't seem like anyone or anything passed through here recently. The only sounds they heard was the pack Brahmin snuffling gently in its sleep and the whistle of the cold wind.****

"So…what's the plan, Yang?" questioned Ruby, after slowly finishing a mouthful of dried mole rat meat Nora had prepared for them. Though she knew the trade route they usually followed for the past few years, she did it simply as a way to break the long silence that hung over the group.

"Well, if we are lucky, we should reach Sun within a few days. He usually has plenty of stuff to trade, and then we'll try and trek over to New Vegas. After that, we can try and do some trading in California, then maybe head out to Arizona-"

"ARIZONA?!" Spluttered Weiss, half choking on a mouthful on meat. Honestly, it was the reaction anyone would expect: Arizona was under legion control. It was no secret that most people saw them as a band of trained murderers, no better than an organized band of raiders. Or that's how Weiss saw them. Despite their unsavoury reputation, Blake, Yang and Ruby knew from years of trading experience that legion territory was among one of the safest and most profitable places in the wasteland to trade. They had wiped out all raiders within the state, and unlike the NCR, they didn't tax trading caravans. Despite their reputation, they were a strong political power that demanded respect.

"Yep, Arizona. Nobody will try to screw with us there. Don't worry, princess, we'll be there for a few days at the most," Yang grinned, tucking back into her can of pork and beans.

"But have you heard what they do to women?" half shouted Weiss, her usual scowl on her face.

"That's only their slaves," said Blake, a slight hint of sadness in her voice, "Besides, we won't be dealing directly with the legion. Just traders in Arizona," Yang looked over at Blake, took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Though it had been almost over a decade ago since she escaped the legion's grasp and there was almost no way any legionnaires could recognize her at first glance, Blake made Yang promise to never deal with the legion. Blake half smiled back at Yang, then continued looking through the scope of her rifle. Suddenly, Blake peaked up, stood up and stomped out the fire as fast as she could before she lay back down on the ground and took her gun again. Yang didn't question what she was doing: it was her routine when she saw danger.

"Wha-?" Weiss tried to ask before Ruby laid her down and covered her mouth.

"Don't make any noise," Ruby whispered. Though she was unsure of how close the danger was, Yang always told her it was better to be safe than sorry. Yang laid on her belly and crawled towards Blake, who stared intently through her telescopic sight. She turned to Ruby and motioned to pass her Crescent Rose, who slid her beloved weapon across the ground to Yang. She adjusted the rifle so she could look through the giant scythe's sight.

"What am I looking at, Blake?" Yang whispered.

"Tarmac road, four men," Blake answered.

Yang tried to follow Blake's line of vision, and found what had spooked her: the four men were led by Cardin.

"No way, he should've been dead," Yang whispered harshly.

"You remember when your dad found me, Yang? I should've been dead as well," Blake turned a corner of her mouth up in a smile. Yang made a quick single laugh, still keeping her voice down, though the slavers were a fair distance away.

"Should we try taking them out?"

"I wouldn't risk it, there might be more of them" Blake muttered, another unspoken reason lingering on her mind. The legionaries were glorified slavers, and from her experience, slavers didn't try to retrieve their old "stock", unless it was too high value. She turned to Weiss, and cursed under her breath. Weiss was the daughter of the founding members of the gun runners, and that made them a huge target to anyone who knew who she was. If they took out the group of slavers, they would only just send more after them, and if Weiss was such a valuable target, it was a safe bet Cardin's employer was prepared to go to extremes to find her.

"What do you suggest we do, Blake?"

"Let them pass. They seem to be following the road. I don't think they'll notice us or follow the path we took,"

Yang smiled gently, relieved that what she learned from her experiences of years of trading once again paid off. Still, she couldn't help but feel a pang of doubt. Experience also told her never to rely on luck, but more thought.

"And…speaking hypothetically…what if they do notice us or follow the path?"

Blake sighed. They weren't in the best defensive position, and if even they tried to make a run for it, they would be easy pickings for the slavers, but when she turned to the horizon, she couldn't help but smile. The light of daylight was beginning to wane.

"We would have to make a stand, but soon night will fall, that will give us more options"

Just as she said that, Blake noticed through the scope of her rifle that another group of about ten men appeared on the small hill Cardin and his boys came from. Cardin turned and started arguing with the man in front. Though they were too far away to discern any of the words they were saying, Blake was both concerned and curious as to what was going on down there. Observing the heated debate, Blake and Yang's curiosity only grew. What the hell was going on down there? Finally, throwing his arms in a fit of exasperation, Cardin turned and continued walking down the road, followed by his men and the new group.

"Fuck," muttered Yang under her breath. If this new group was with Cardin, that eliminated the option to stand and fight. Though the group had faced greater odds before and they had a vantage point from here, the darkness would reduce their ability to fight. It served as a stealth advantage, but was a huge disadvantage vision-wise. Yang didn't want to put her friends in danger. Yang was torn between what to do: stay here and risk getting caught – they weren't totally invisible on this cliff – or make a run for it in the night. She turned to Ruby and Weiss, who lay down on the ground, half sprawled on each other and covered in cold sweat.

"Unpack the Brahmin, but do it slowly and quietly"

**oo0oo**

Yang, Ruby and Weiss sat at the edge of the path, their trading goods evenly distributed on their backs. Blake had temporarily retreated into the night to release the Brahmin. She also took a block of C4 and a detonator, undoubtedly creating a distraction. The whole time they waited, they kept an eye on the small fire by the road. As the seconds passed by and grew more agonizing, the group worried more and more about the fate of their comrade.

"She should be back by now," whispered Ruby, pacing impatiently.

"She'll be here!" Yang whispered harshly, a little more venom in her voice than she originally anticipated. She was glad that it was so dark, because she couldn't bear to look at Ruby if she unintentionally hurt her. Almost as if on queue, they heard running footsteps coming up behind them, and faintly saw gold eyes and the slender form of Blake.

"Ok…the charge is set…all we have to do…is wait for my signal…"puffed Blake, out of breath. "Also, sorry for keeping you waiting."

Blake pulled her detonator, and she motioned the group to walk down the cliff path. They walked down the path slowly but surely, careful not to create too much noise. Even though Cardin and his group of men were a fair distance away, they did it anyway, just in case they had patrols – when Yang looked through the scope of her Crescent Rose as it grew dark, she noticed a few men were not sitting around the fire. Finally, the path levelled out and this is when you pulled the trigger on her detonator. They couldn't feel it, but they heard it and noticed a quick flash of light piercing through the darkness. The intended effect worked, when Yang noticed black silhouettes getting up from the campfire they sat around and walked towards the explosion, curious as to what it was. Blake nodded and the group started running as fast and as hard as they could, holding hands so that they couldn't lose each other in the darkness. Cardin might have noticed some footprints in the dirt, but he wouldn't seem without the help of daylight.

And they would be long gone by the time morning arrived.  
_  
(Ok, guys! I feel like this is just a filler. I don't want to keep Cardin as a main threat but I want it to be so that he'll be keeping Ruby, Yang, Blake and Weiss on their toes. Hope you guys enjoy it, and Adios!)_


	8. Chapter 8: Following the Horizon

Each of the girls kept on running long after the slaver campsite had disappeared. They sprinted hard, ignoring the pain in their legs that threatened to topple them or the lack of sleep from the previous night. Finally, the promise of the dawn started to chase away the veil of night, making the convoy take their first break in hours. Yang finally spoke up, her breath ragged.

"Ok…take five minutes, guys….but don't get too comfortable…I want us to get back on the move as soon as we can,"

As if on queue, Weiss and Ruby placed their heavy backpacks on the ground, careful not to damage any of their contents, then collapsed on the floor. Ruby landed next to Weiss and both the girls tiredly tried to get their breathing pattern back to normal. Meanwhile, Yang dropped her bag and fished a torch and the map she so rarely used. She placed the map on the ground and flicked the light on – the light of the incoming sun was still too weak for Yang to read anything. Blake crouched nearby, unhooking her sniper and scanned the area around them for any potential threats.

"So, what's the plan, Yang?"

Yang scanned the map carefully, taking a minute to focus due to fatigue. Usually, she trusted her memory for any familiar landmarks from her usual routes – hence why she rarely used the map – but this was unchartered territory.

"Blake, what can you see through your scope?"

Blake did a full 360 pan of the area, carefully noting down mentally what she saw.

"A slight hill with a forest to the north…a dried up river bed surrounding it…. And a road way to the south of us."

Yang smiled. The girls had made amazing distance overnight. If the slavers were still on their trail, it would be a long time before they could find them. Heck, the wasteland is so vast; there was a chance they may never have to cross paths again. Plus, they were much closer to Sun than Yang first thought.

"Great! If we continue westward, we should be reaching the Wukong mercenary group pretty soon! This is yang-tastic news!"

Blake groaned loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose, looking away from her rifle and back to Yang, who had a smug grin painted across her face.

"Fucking really? You couldn't resist a pun, could you?"

Yang giggled slightly as she folded her map and put away her gear back in her rucksack.

"Nope, but you love me for it,"

Blake sighed and rolled her eyes, but smiled as she looked back through her scope, continuing to look for potential threats.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night,"

**oo0oo**

Meanwhile, Weiss lay panting on the ground as Ruby leaned into her bag pack to pull out a bottle of purified water, taking a few healthy swigs of it before offering it to Weiss. Weiss opened up her eyes and took the bottle without a second thought. Ruby looked at Weiss admirably. Usually, whenever Weiss ate or drank, she still had a strong sense of etiquette. However, that disappeared as soon as Weiss started violently chugging on the plastic bottle. Though she was caked in dirt and sweat, Ruby still surveyed her form and face in silent adoration. Finally, Weiss gulped down a final mouthful of water and handed it back to Ruby.

"Thank you. I really needed that."

Ruby nodded, smiling as she tucked the bottle back in its place. Then she heard Weiss slump back down on the ground, using her bag pack as a pillow.

"How are you holding up, Weiss?"

Weiss snorted a single laugh, then spoke in a tone heavily laced with sarcasm.

"Let's see, I ran away from an abusive father, only to be captured by slavers. Now, those same ones are after me, and I've dragged you guys into it. So yeah, I am just doing fabulous,"

Ruby looked away, slightly regretting asking the question. However, Weiss noticed and feeling a slight pang of guilt, sat up and placed a hand on the small brunette's shoulder. Ruby turned around at the white haired girl, who was smiling at her. Ruby couldn't help but stare into the piercing blue eyes which contrasted beautifully against her dirt streaked skin. God, she is gorgeous, thought Ruby.

"I never did thank you guys for saving me and taking me in," Weiss panted.

Ruby placed her own hand on top of Weiss's, who only smiled more at the contact.

"We only did what any other decent human being would've done,"

Weiss's grin was the largest size that Ruby had ever seen. Ruby also noticed Weiss's cheek slightly colour under the thick layer of dried dirt.

"I know we got off on the wrong foot, Ruby, and I do owe you an apology,"

Ruby shook her head, smiling.

"You had your reasons, no need to apologize,"

"No. It was totally unnecessary of me, and I want to make it up to you, can I make it up to you?"

Ruby nodded, still smiling and squeezing Weiss's hand softly. Without warning, Weiss leaned forward, running her free hand through the back of the younger girl's hair softly, pulling Ruby towards her. Ruby didn't struggle, nor did she want to. Finally, their lips connected. Weiss's lips felt soft and gentle against her own, and Weiss relished the taste of Ruby. Though the kiss was fleeting, it left Ruby and Weiss in a daze for a few seconds.

"Wha- what was that for?"

Weiss frowned, getting up and hoisting her large bag pack onto her shoulders, simultaneously dusting dirt off her backside.

"Didn't you hear what I said, you dolt? I wanted to make things up to you" She suddenly breaking back into a smile and offered a hand to Ruby.

"Now, get up. I imagine we'll be heading off soon,"

**oo0oo**

Ruby spent the whole journey westward with Weiss, never taking her mind off how her lips felt. Though she and Weiss never mentioned it, Weiss always smiled and blushed slightly whenever they made eye contact. Meanwhile, Blake decided to do her normal routine and wandered away from the group to cover them from any threats. Though it was unlikely that they may see them so soon, the close encounter with Cardin and the slavers put the whole group on high alert. Yang also wasn't her usually happier self. A mix of tiredness and anxiety made her tense and ready to jump at the first sign of trouble. It was only when she noticed Ruby and Weiss holding hands did she lighten up.

"Surprise, surprise," she said to herself, chuckling softly.

"Hm?" Weiss and Ruby both pulled away their gazes from each other and looked at Yang.

"If you ask me, I knew it was only going to be a matter of time,"

Ruby and Weiss blushed slightly, but didn't break their point of contact. Weiss quickly tried to divert her attention to something else.

"So, how long until we reach the Wukong mercenary group?"

"With a bit of luck, if the weather holds up, and we don't run into any trouble, we should be there in a couple of hours. Nice way to change the subject, princess."

Weiss blushed more furiously, frowning at Yang, and continued walking, never letting go of Ruby's hand, who was now just as red in the face as her partner was. Yang turned back around and continued trekking westbound, smirking.

"How long we staying with Sun, Yang?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know, Rubes. Probably a few days at most. We'll stay and catch up with Sun and the other guys. Besides, I am in no rush to reach California,"

Ruby nodded in understanding. Even Weiss seemed to comprehend Yang's dislike of not wanting to reach the New Californian Republic. The taxes were harsh on small trading outfits like Yang's. Even the gun runners – the company Weiss's father owned – suffered in the past between heavy taxes, raiders and the recently ended war at Hoover dam. Each of the girls snapped out of thought when they heard faint gunfire on the wind. Though it was a common occurrence within the wasteland, it was still more than enough reason to put the girls on edge.

"We should keep going,"

**oo0oo**

Cardin cursed loudly, kicking the dirt in angry frustration. The explosion they heard the previous night had attracted the attention of a small pack of deathclaws, which hunted down Cardin's group. The beasts made short work of the majority of his men and injuring the remaining members. For the moment, those wounded would probably survive with some stimpacks, but it still hindered them drastically: it would be a day or two before any of his men were in any condition to maintain pursuit, and some of the equipment the previous crew brought with them would have to be left behind.

"grrrr…"

Cardin heard a weak growl from the largest deathclaw. Even after all the punishment the animal had suffered, it still was stubbornly clinging to life. Cardin picked up a nearby lever action shotgun, and climbed onto the chest of the beast, who barely made any effort to try and attack the intruder. He shoved the barrel aggressively into the monster's jaws and blasted all the shells into its skull without pity or remorse. When he was out of ammo, he threw the gun away and kicked at the now still chest until soft tears rolled down his cheek. God damn it, he thought, I am fucked, I am so fucking fucked! Even if he brought Weiss back to Eulogy, he wouldn't be happy about the men and equipment lost. If he didn't bring Weiss back at all, he was as good as dead. At this point, he wasn't sure which option he preferred. He angrily wiped away his tears, and looked at his injured comrades who lay sleeping a few feet away. Though the shotgun shots surprisingly never woke them, they still stirred and groaned from their wounds.

"What a mess," Cardin said aloud. Stroking his chin, he made a quick decision and started to gather up the weapons and equipment up so he could prioritise what was needed later. He needed to be prepared to hit the road as soon as his comrades could walk, and it helped to be ready ahead of time. It was the best he could do in this situation.


	9. Chapter 9: Finding the Sun

For the hundredth time this day, Yang attempted to wipe away at the thick layer of sweat which covered her forehead, only succeeding in making her face more dirty. Growling slightly, she questioned why she ever thought of doing it in the first place. The long hard trek was beginning to take a toll on Yang and the others. Despite her extraordinary strength and endurance, the heavy bag pack and equipment was digging deeply into her shoulder blades, and her legs were straining under the added weight and the cross country run the group did to evade the persistent slavers. Though it was unlikely that they would find them, Yang wasn't one for taking chances.

Yang looked around at the group, only growing more disheartened. Blake soldiered on, but her gritted teeth and bags under her eyes were showing that the march was just as hard on Blake as it was on everyone else. Ruby limped heavily, but refused to stop at all, using Crescent Rose as a makeshift walking stick. The one who was taking it the worst was Weiss. While it was the other's lifestyle to travel almost everyday of their lives, Weiss was currently leaning on Ruby for support, barely hopping along. Though she was physically fit, she looked as though she was on the verge of passing out. Stopping to allow the rest of the group to catch up, she dragged herself on Weiss' unoccupied side and slid her arm onto her shoulders, crouching slightly to accommodate the white haired girl.

"Please…I don't need help, Yang,"

Yang looked at the girl. She looked truly miserable. Her hair was matted with dust and dirt. Her trousers were scratched up and bloodied from constantly falling over, and her eyelids could barely stay open. Yet still, she was trying to stay modest and keep on enduring.

"Weiss, you can barely stand, let alone walk, and am I hell leaving anyone behind."

Weiss huffed in protest, but didn't argue her point further, focusing her energy on taking excruciatingly small footsteps. Blake turned around, and held her hand up out flat in a stop signal, which the group obeyed. Before Yang or Ruby could ask what she was doing, Blake slipped Weiss off the two girls, and took off Weiss' bag pack. Adjusting it with a heavy grunt, Weiss' bag sat on her front, and her own was on her back. The two sisters picked the girl back up with a bit more ease as Blake leaned her chin on the top of Weiss' bag and walked ahead, but slow enough to be at the same pace as the rest as the group. And so this continued, until Blake finally spoke up.

"Something is up ahead,"

Yang looked up and saw a small spike jutting out from the smooth horizon. She signalled for the group to take a break. Ruby carried Weiss off a little bit, and sat her down, taking a bottle of water from her own bag pack and tipping it gently into the other girl's mouth so she could drink gently. Meanwhile, Yang and Blake dropped their bag packs, and Blake took up her sniper rifle, and looked through the scope of it. Smiling, she passed the rifle to Yang, who beamed as well. There was a large building with a thick fence surrounding it. She also saw a small group of men patrolling the building. All of the men wore beige coloured armour, with a black symbol on it: two arrows forming an x with a sword cutting in between them. The same symbol was painted on the building but in white. Yang and Blake recognised the symbol almost immediately.

The symbol of the Wukong mercenary group.

Blake slung her pack onto her shoulders and carried her rifle over her shoulder. Yang adjusted her own sack with some slight difficult and turned around to rouse Ruby and Weiss, but the red head came with Weiss in her arms. The smaller girl was carrying her companion in her arms bridal style as she breathed gently, her head rolling side to side with each stride Ruby took.

"She's exhausted, I didn't want to wake her," Ruby whispered intentionally, hoping not to wake the white haired girl. Yang nodded once, and walked alongside Ruby, a comforting hand on her sister's upper back and a new found hope in her mind.

**oo0oo**

"Yo, boss! You are going to want to see this!"

Sun looked up in the direction of where the voice came from. It came from his right hand man and best friend, Neptune Vasilias. He didn't wear the traditional armour the rest of his men did, but had a leather overcoat with the symbol of the Wukong Mercenary group stitched on the back of the coat. He currently stood on a balcony looking through a pair of binoculars, gazing out into the distance. Sun jogged up the gangway to where his friend stood guard. Without turning around, Neptune handed the binoculars to Sun, who looked out into the distance. Four figures were trudging towards them in the distance. Sun laughed slightly to himself as he instantly recognized the shades of red, ebony and blonde hair. He didn't recognize the fourth, which Ruby carried, but Sun handed his binos back to Neptune and vaulted over the balcony, sprinting towards the group.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He heard Neptune shout behind him.

"GET SOME OF OUR ROOMS READY, AND BRING SOME FOOD AND WATER OUT! WE HAVE GUESTS!"

**oo0oo**

Ruby tucked Weiss into a single bed Sun had laid out for her, besides three identical ones. Ruby smirked smugly as she saw two of the beds were pushed together to form a double bed: clearly for Yang and Blake, which gave the small redhead an idea. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Ruby pushed her single bed next to Weiss' own one, gently and careful not to cause enough noise to wake her. When they were finally joined, Ruby crawled into her own bed, and wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist, deciding she would catch up with Yang and Blake later.

**oo0oo**

Across the corridor, while all this was happening, Sun took a healthy swig of whiskey, wincing slightly as the amber liquid burned its way down his throat. Smiling finally, he looked at Yang, tilting the bottle towards her and Blake.

"This is pretty good stuff, Yang. You got any m-?"

Before he could finish, Yang fished a bottle of her bag pack and slid it across the metal table to Sun, who caught expertly. Nodding his head in thanks, he stood it up and put it beside him, out of the way. Blake and Yang felt slightly confused and worried: the last time they saw their friend, he had a hatred for alcohol, but they quickly put that thought to the back of their heads when Sun looked up and spoke to them.

"So, what brings you to this corner of the woods? Don't get me wrong, it is nice to see you guys" said Sun, aiming the statement more at Blake, who seemed unfazed by the comment "but somehow, I don't think you are here just to share whiskey and old stories,"

Yang smirked slightly. If Sun was anything, he was perceptive, as much as it pained her.

"We were almost attacked by a group of slavers few days past. We need a place to lay low for a while…and maybe even trade," Yang beckoned to all their bag packs lined against the wall, still filled with all manner of random goods. Standing up, Sun walked towards Yang and clapped her firmly on the shoulder, a firm smile drawn on his face.

"You guys know you are more than welcome here. As for trading, we are high on caps, and low on goods. So it seems like you were a god send, heh." Smiling one final time, he strode towards the door, not giving the girls a look back. As ecstatic as he was to see his old friends, he had a company to run.

"You two should get some rest. You have travelled a long way,"

**oo0oo**

Weiss awoke gently, but not peacefully. The soft squeaking sounds and slight leg jerks from the person next to her had stirred her from her sleep. She turned around to find Ruby twisting and turning in her sleep. The squeaking coming from her throat would have sounded cute if it weren't for the tear streaks running down Ruby's cheeks and the terrified expression on her face. She instantly placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders and shook her gently, and spoke to her in a soft, almost motherly voice.

"Wake up, Ruby, wake up,"

Ruby jerked out of her nightmare suddenly with terrified panting and eyes darting around the dimly lit room. Without hesitation, Weiss embraced the thin form of Ruby as the girl broke down and started crying softly into Weiss' shoulder. Never losing her composure, Weiss kissed the top of Ruby's head regularly, and hushed her with soft, kind words.

"Shhh, it's ok…I'm here…it's over,"

Soon, Ruby quietened down, and Weiss looked down upon Ruby, instantly regretting it. The usual happy, cheerful girl had puffy red eyes and the most heartbreaking look of sadness on her face. Stroking away a tear with her thumb, Weiss finally whispered to Ruby.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Could you just…hold me right now?"

Nodding once, Weiss took Ruby in her arms, protecting the girl from whatever demons haunted, almost taunting them to dare come back with her. After a few minutes of silence, Ruby broke the silence.

"I remember their faces just like it was yesterday. My family, Blake and others settled not far from a town called Broken hills. It was a normal night. Tai had just come home from trading and we were settling down for the evening. Then some raiders came during the night…" Ruby bit back the tears that threatened to come out before she could finish her story. She wanted to tell Weiss everything.

"…there were so many….my mom woke me and Yang up, and Tai told us just to run, run and don't look back. Don't look back he said…but I did. And…and…" Ruby almost broke down again, but Weiss' lips on her forehead soothed her again.

"Some of us ran to Broken hills. Pyrhha, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Yang, Blake, Sun, and I were the only ones who made it there. I never saw anyone else again. My uncle Qrow helped raise all of us, and even gave his trading caravan name to us when he decided to retire." Ruby smiled finally and gave a single laugh at the happy memory, then felt guilty when she remembered about the death her parents had suffered at the hands of the raiders. Weiss listened in silent shock, her heart splitting as Ruby told her story.

"I had no idea…I'm truly sorry,"

Ruby shook her head, and nestled deeper into Weiss, craving the warmth that emitted from her body.

"Can I ask you one thing, Weiss?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Please…don't leave me,"

Weiss nodded her head once and wrapped her arms tightly around the small girl. Finding out about the girl's harsh past gave Weiss a new found respect for her. She knew she was a talented fighter, and a clever trader, but to witness whatever happened that fateful night at a young age and remain mostly normal at her age now was remarkable. Kissing the girl once on the head, she closed her eyes and held the redhead close, taunting to the haunting memories of her past to dare come back again.

For the rest of the night, they left Ruby alone.

_(Notes: I haven't really touched much on this story, so I really wanted to write something. I know it is a short chapter, but I have been so busy with university stuff and I felt bad leaving you guys without anything. So quick announcement, I am going to be putting my writing on hold, at least for a while. I need to get my programming and design coursework out the way before I do anything else, so I'm sorry, you are gonna have to wait to see more of this story. With that being said, I am going to post one more chapter on "Growing Up" and some of you may be happy to know I have other ideas for other RWBY stories coming up, but you'll only be seeing them once I get uni shit done. Anyways, I am truly sorry, I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to leave you guys with something. I hope you enjoy it, and Adios!)_


	10. Chapter 10: Somewhere safe

Blake awoke in a dimly lit room. The walls were a dull grey, flicked with dirt, the only illumination coming from a weak, flickering light on the ceiling. At first frightened by the unfamiliar layout, she quickly calmed down when she remembered where she was. And more importantly, who she was with. Across the room, Ruby and Weiss slept in the same bed – or two beds pushed together – with Weiss wrapping her arms protectively around Ruby's form, both of them covered by a thick blanket. Blake diverted her attention to the golden mass of locks, next to her. Yang lay there, dead to the world, her head still resting on Blake's shoulder and one arm wrapped around her belly. Blake adjusted herself slightly, and stroked the blonde berserker's wild mane, smiling all the while. Despite their individual insecurities, problems, and flaws, Blake loved Yang more than anyone could possibly comprehend. She took her in when she had no cause to and gave her a hopeful future. After everything she had suffered, Yang was Blake's new life, her second chance.

And she would defend her to the bitter end.

"You're lucky I love you so much, rarely anyone gets to touch the hair," Yang grumbled, unmoving, her eyes still clamped shut, though her whole face was tensed up. This didn't stop Blake. It barely even intimidated her. She simply continued to stroke her blonde hair, stopping to place a delicate kiss on top of the blonde brawler's head. This eased Yang's tense face into relaxation, and rewarded Blake with a small smile. Tightening her hold around Blake, Yang moved in closer towards Blake, eager to soak up every ounce of heat she had to offer. In response, Blake wrapped her arms around Yang, leaning her cheek against the top of Yang's head, closing her eyes, drinking in Yang's scent. Even though she spent most of her life trekking through dirt and fighting for her life, Yang still had managed to have a surprisingly sweet, natural smell about her, mixed with the subtle hints of earth, smoke, and sweat. Blake heard a distinct mumble from Yang.

"Did you say something?"

"I love you, Blake," Yang whispered.

Blake smiled, and held the girl closer, thinking of nothing of how much more she wanted this moment to last forever. Nothing else mattered in that moment. Not their past. Not the wastes. Not their future. Not even Ruby and Weiss. All that mattered to Blake in that moment was Yang. She uttered one last phrase before following her love into consciousness.

"I love you, Yang,"

**oo0oo**

"GOD DAMN IT!" Sun pounded the work bench the fifteenth time since he started on this project early that morning. He was currently working on an automated defence system for the compound. One thing he hated doing was putting his men – no, his friends, his brothers – in harm's way by defending the fort. So he, Neptune and a few of the company had worked together to activate the robots within the facility, and to devise a way of effectively protecting the fort without risking any human bodies. They had already a few turrets around the perimeter, some from before the war, other bought from traders or made out of different bits of scrap. Sun was now working on a central brain unit for them, a system that could program the gun's settings. However, it simply refused to work. If only…

"Sun? What you doing?"

Sun almost jumped when he heard the soft voice and turned around to see Ruby in the doorway, leaning against the door frame. She wore a loose grey tank top, and thick black trousers, accompanied by huge boots. Sun took a huge breath, before addressing Ruby.

"Christ, Rubes, don't sneak up on me!"

"I'm sorry," Ruby said timidly. Sun took another breath and eased up his tone, running a single hand through his blonde mess of hair.

"It's alright, just wasn't expecting anyone," at this, Ruby smiled softly and Sun thanked himself for not coming off as too harsh. Though they hadn't seen each other in what felt like months, Sun saw Ruby as the little sister he always wanted but never had, and would never dare hurt her in a million years. Ruby went on her tip toes to look over Sun's shoulder.

"What you working on?" Ruby asked, her voice filled with the curiosity of a child. Sun stepped aside, as Ruby walked over towards the work bench.

"My pet project," Said Sun, displaying the crude mish-mash of wires and electronic components. "It isn't finished yet but-"

"Your power supply is too weak," said Ruby, in a matter of fact tone.

"….excuse me?"

"Your power supply" said Ruby, pointing towards a small cylinder, "also, your capacitor is broken, plus a few wires are kinna damaged", Sun followed Ruby's finger to where she pointed. True, the component Ruby was pointing at was sparking unnaturally, and there were wires that were slightly eroded that Sun originally overlooked that Ruby was now showing. Sun leaned against the work bench and took a deep breath.

"So what do you suggest doing?"

"I would get your power supply and capacitor sorted out. The wires might be fine if they aren't too badly damaged, but the power supply won't be able to make the circuit work if it isn't powerful enough. Plus, you'll need the right capacitor. Too low, and it won't work the way you want it to. Too high, and the capacitor will damage or blow up." Muttered Ruby, a clear face of focus and concentration etched on her face. Sun has a quick thought before he spoke again.

"Could you help me out in fixing it?"

Ruby sat for a moment and thought in herself. She wasn't sure how hard it would be to find a particular power supply small enough to be placed on the circuit and powerful enough to run the whole circuit. Even though Sun never had a chance to say what it was for, already she could that the supply that was implemented would never be able to run all the components on the circuit board. In addition, finding a capacitor that could tolerate the voltage and current of the circuit would be an equally difficult task. Still, it would be an interesting challenge…

"Sure. Why not?"

**oo0oo**

BOOM!

Neptune took yet another shot at the makeshift target made out of cardboard but missed it entirely for the third time in row, hitting the wall close to the neck of the imaginary body, causing him to throw his pistol down to the floor in a fit of frustration. He cupped his face with both of his hands and let out an exasperated sigh. He picked his gun up again, aimed and fired.

Missed.

Again.

He went to fire the gun again and realized he was out of bullets. Filling it up with bullets, he stood up and went to fire again.

"You're holding the pistol wrong," Neptune heard a female voice come from behind him. As he turned around, he saw Weiss turn up next to him. She wore a simple long sleeved shirt and trousers. She took the gun from Neptune's hand, who let her have it without protest. She held it in one hand, feeling the weight of it. It was a simple revolver, a bit more heavy than any weapon Weiss was used to. Holding the gun in one hand, she put her other hand on the bottom of the handle, and crouched as she looked down the sight. Unlike Neptune – who was eager to fire off as quickly as he could – Weiss took a deep breath in and out, lining up her shot with the head of the target as carefully as she could. Though he was an abusive asshole, his father did teach her a few skills. "Don't fire off all your shots as quickly as you can. You aren't one of the scumbag mercenaries. You are a Schnee. Take your time, pick your targets. Look the devil in the eye before you end someone's life," All the while; Neptune was beginning to lose his patience.

"Just fucking –"

Weiss fired off all six rounds in the chamber in quick succession. Neptune scoffed, but looking at the target, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. In the head area of the target, there were six holes where the bullets passed through the cardboard, creating a perfect circle. Weiss stood back, reloaded the gun and handed the revolver back to Neptune, but adjusted herself so she could show him how to hold it.

"If it's too heavy for you, put your palm on the bottom of the handle. It'll help steady the gun. Also, crouching will help your aim," Weiss then stepped back and watched as Neptune squeezed off a shot. He was at first surprised then smiled as he saw the fruits of his effort.

In the torso of the target, a singed hole from where the bullet burned cardboard.

"Thank y-" Neptune turned around to thank Weiss, but all he saw was the back of her as she left the room. A little saddened, he made a mental note to thank her when he saw her again. Thinking less on it, he turned back and started firing off. Though he occasionally missed, the new posture Weiss had shown him made the number of times he hit the target vastly outnumber the amount of times he missed.

**oo0oo**

Cardin looked through his binoculars again, not believing what he saw. He peered through them again, hoping that he wasn't imagining things.

There, in the middle of a vast plain, was a huge facility, with men patrolling it. Both the men patrolling it and the building had the insignia of the Wukong mercenary group. The same group who had claimed responsibilities for attacks on slave caravans. They always did the same thing per raid. They would ambush the caravan, kill of most of the slavers, release the slaves, and take whatever equipment they had. But they always left one survivor. Every survivor came back saying the same thing. Even Cardin had seen it happen a few times.

"Greetings from Wukong,"

Ever since then, the slavers had made it their goal to take down the group. But not only did Cardin catch their sworn nemesis where they slept, but something else caught his attention.

There, on the top of one of the walls, sat his target with the small redheaded girl – Ruby, if he remembered her name correctly - talking. The Schnee girl! She was here! Cardin grinned evilly. If she was there, then Yang wouldn't be too far away. He thought over the plan in his head. He could take out three birds with one blast. Kill Yang, destroy the Wukong group once and for all, and get the Schnee girl back to Paradise Falls. He looked back at his group, and his heart dropped slightly. They were too few at the moment to mount a siege against a group of trained mercenaries.

"Dove! Get over here!"

Hearing Cardin half shout him over, he scrambled to his leader but kept close to the ground, to avoid being spotted by the sentries that were no doubt stationed around the facility.

"Yeah, boss?"

"I need you to get a message out to Eulogy…"

_(Notes: finally updated this story. I had intended this chapter to be longer, but between everything going on and writer's block, this is all im going to post at the moment. Hope you guys like it, and Adios!)_


	11. Chapter 11:Where nowhere is safe

"Ok…that should just about do it," muttered Ruby, as she installed the final cable into the unit she and Sun had been working on. True to her word, as soon as the cable met its port, the unit whirred loudly into life. Sun, who stood next to her, laughed manically as his pet project finally became a working reality. He went over to the terminal, as the keyboard slid down and the screen sparked to life. Sun ran both of his hands through hair and grabbed Ruby in a wild hug.

"Ruby Rose, you're the best!" At this, Ruby started giggling and blushed lightly.

"No problem at all! It was fun," Sun rolled his eyes at the comment. "Fun" wasn't exactly the word he would have used to have described the months of painful and fruitless work. Still, as he turned around and looked at the AI brain unit, he couldn't help but feel a mix of pride and joy. It had taken him the majority of a year to bring the fort's defences from centuries ago back to life, and countless caps. Finally, his work had finally paid off. He went by the terminal and happily typed out a few commands, and sprinted out to the courtyard, with Ruby following close behind. Sun burst out into the courtyard, and looked up at the turrets. When once they sat on the perimeter balconies lifeless, they suddenly peaked up and were scanning the area. They weren't shooting at any of his men. That was good. Sun decided to test out the guns to see if they were truly working. Sun took note of a particular turret that was making its round over the courtyard. Fishing into the pocket of his trousers, he pulled out a frag grenade. Not bothering to pull out the pin, Sun tossed it up into the air as hard. The turret followed the path of the grenade and fired at it. With a single shot, the grenade exploded mid air, safely out of the way of Sun and everyone.

"Well, looks like it works, Rubes!"

Ruby smiled out in joy and the two had a huge embrace, and pulled away, watching the turrets scanning the area around them slowly. They heard a door suddenly open up behind them and they turned to see Yang, Neptune, Blake and Weiss all sprinting out with a group of Wukong mercenaries close behind them. Neptune ran out to Sun, panting slightly.

"We felt an explosion. Is everything alright?"

Sun nodded and pointed towards the turret.

"Yeah, we're all good. We were just testing the new defence system."

Neptune looked up at the guns, which were whirring around 360 in a slow motion. He smiled a toothy grin as he realized the project he and the rest of the mercs were working on was finally complete.

"Fucking finally! So it turns out we finally have some more good news?"

Yang raised his eyebrows in interest.

"More?"

"We just got word that Scarlet and Sage's contract was a success. No casualties, the client paid the full price as well as extra for completing the contract so quickly and they should be arriving very soon," To match his words, everybody heard the sound of helicopter blades and looked out into the distance to see a vertibird in the distance. Sun took a pair of binoculars that were hanging on his belt and looked at the bird, before finally putting them back with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

"That's our bird! Come on!"

The whole group went back in the building; running through the corridors to get the hangars that sat on the other side of the fort, while the men that followed Neptune went back to their posts. Despite the size of the compound, the sprint towards the hangar was very short. They arrived in time to reach a large, open, brightly lit room. A balcony lined the mid section of the four walls, and five vertibirds sat at the far edge of the room. No sooner did the group arrive, the ceiling opened up and the vertibird came in for a soft landing. The group strolled down a metal staircase and reached the vertibird just as it landed and the cargo hold door opened to reveal a squad of eight men wearing Wukong mercenary armour. By the time they filed out and left the hangar, there were only two men left inside the aircraft. The man who sat in the pilot's seat stood up and took off his set of headphones.

He wore a set of Wukong mercenary armour but, unlike the other soldiers whose armour sets were polished or had very limited damage applied to it, this man's armour was nearing the end of its life span. The chest plate was bashed inwards and there were a countless numbers of bullet holes and scratches all over the armour. He had a shotgun holstered over his back, modified with a blade that was welded to the top of the barrel. He had a single tribal tattoo under his marooned coloured eyes and wild red hair, styled in an undercut, with one side of his hair long and flowing, and the other side freshly shaved.

The man next to him got up out of his seat and followed close behind him. He didn't wear a traditional set of Wukong armour. Instead, he wore a set of armoured trouser pants that were a part of the Wukong armour set, but he wore on open cream coloured trench coat with the Wukong symbol on the back in white. The trench coat sat open, revealing a bare, muscled chest. His black and dark green coloured hair was gelled up and his eyes were a dark indistinguishable colour. He had a set of dual revolvers which were clipped to the sides of his trousers and a katana blade hanging off his back. They smiled at Sun and stood next to him. Sun and Neptune embraced both of the men and turned back to the rest of the group.

"Ladies: Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss. Meet Scarlet and Sage, the fathers of the Wukong mercenary group."

**oo0oo**

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Sun, Scarlet, Sage, and Neptune all sat at a large metal table, enjoying a large banquet of random assorted foods, ranging from Brahmin steaks to sugar bombs. While all they all ate, Weiss waited for a gap in the conversations and caught Sun's attention.

"So how did you form the company?"

Sun held up his hand, signalling Weiss to wait since his mouth was full. Clearing his throat, he finally spoke.

"When I was with Yang and everyone else, I was the first one to leave. Trading was fun, but I wanted a little bit more action in my life, you know? Anyway, so I split off from the group and wandered around for the longest time. Eventually, I came across Paradise Falls, where these three were kept in the pen. Long story short, I broke them out and we've been friends ever since."

"So" Weiss pointed towards Sun's companions with her fork, "why is it called Wukong mercenary group? Why not something that would incorporate all your names?"

Sage suddenly spoke out in a very deep voice, "if it wasn't for Sun, we would have never even secured our first few contracts,"

"How did he do all that then?" Weiss said.

"Well," Sun leaned back in his seat, "when you have been a nomad trader as long as I have, you make a few contacts here and there," Weiss nodded finally, her curiosity satisfied.

"So, how did you find this place?" Weiss asked.

"Total accident," this time, it was Neptune's turn to speak out. "I was actually kinna surprised, because when we came here, it was totally abandoned. Just an entire old worlds military base, a stockpile of weapons, ammunition, and even some working vertibirds, the ones you saw back there," Neptune pointed in the general direction of the hangar. Weiss nodded once, and went back to her meal, her curiosity satisfied.

"So," Yang said, "What was this contract you were working on?"

"A regular client of ours wanted us was getting constantly attacked by super mutants and raiders. He wanted us to find the sources of both problems and clear them out" Sage said.

"Why would he want to do that? Who was this dude?"

"If anyone else had asked us that, we would have said client confidentiality or some shit, but we trust you guys" said Sun, "He's an old dude called Hannibal. He has spent most of his life as a slave, and now he helps escaped slaves set up a new life. He lives down in D.C. You'd honestly like him, Yang. Anyway, with the kind of attention he was drawing in, the super mutants and raiders started attacking, dragging away people, slaughtering livestock, stealing shit, you get the picture. Don't get me wrong, these guys are all competent fighters, but the number of attacks they were going through, they were exhausted and they had already lost a good number of people by the time they called us. Anyway, Sage and Scarlet got the job done, as always," Sun smiled and clapped Scarlet on the shoulder, as both the men nodded towards them, smiling in pride.

Weiss looked at the men before her with a similar feeling of pride, smiling hard. Though the gun runners weren't known for keeping slaves, her father was a cruel man who used them personally, both to work in his home and for…other needs. The gun runners would normally not tolerate slavery, but they overlooked it for the sake of the fact that Weiss' father was one of the richest men in the wastes and the founding member of the company. If the other members of the gun runners had denied his support, the company would have crumbled to pieces. She hated the man more than anything, not just for the misery he caused her, but the misery he brought on to others. To be in the presence of men who were fighting against the same misery that others dealt in the same way her father did, and even helping some of those poor souls, to be in the presence of men who risked their lives to deal justice in a wild and chaotic land.

It filled her with a sense of happiness.

**oo0oo**

Though it took his group a while to travel towards the Wukong compound, Dove could travel a lot faster on his own. He was able to reach Paradise falls within the space of a few days, and was composing himself. Just as he was about to open the door, Eulogy stepped out and stood next to Dove, seemingly not surprised by his presence.

"Well, well, well. Dove Bronzewing. I thought you were with Cardin Winchester's group?"

"I am! I have a message for you from him, sir," Dove launched into a speech, reciting everything Cardin had told him to say. About tracking down the Schnee girl to the Wukong base of operations, about how he wasn't sure how long they would stay there for, and how he need more equipment and men to take down the base. The whole time, Eulogy listened patiently, not interrupting at all. Finally, Dove stopped speaking.

"So we finally found that little thorn in our side, and we found our cash cow as well, it would seem!" Eulogy Jones smiled and placed a hand on Dove's shoulder. "You, my man, have just made my day! If what you say is true, then you have just made yourself a very rich man, but if you are fucking with me, you better pray for you and your comrades,"

"I promise you, boss, we have found them."

"Well, follow me them," Eulogy and Dove walked to the centre of the courtyard. Seeing as it was midday, all the slavers were out in the courtyard, and they were surprised when they noticed Eulogy coming up.

"Alright, gather round, y'all! I got an announcement to make! Gather round!" The slavers quickly obeyed, surrounding Eulogy. Satisfied, he finally spoke out again.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman, like I said, I've got some big news. Cardin Winchester's group as just found the Wukong mercenary group, as well as Weiss Schnee, the daughter of one Jeremiah Schnee. Who he is is none of your concern. What is of your concern is that daddy is most likely willing to pay a lot of money to see his baby home safe. You'll recognise her by her white hair. I want her alive and unharmed. Every one else you see is free game. So, Pierce and Taylor's squad stay here and hold down the fort. The rest of you, gather up everything you can. I want fat men, I want missile launchers, I want machine guns, I want pistols, I want knives, I want sharp sticks. If it can kill a man, then take it. Be ready to leave and move fast within the hour, we do not know how long the Schnee girl will be staying with the Wukong. Any questions?"

Eulogy's question was met with a long silence.

"Good! Now move!" As he shouted that final command, everyone ran in separate directions to do as Eulogy bid them too. Dove was about to run off too, but Eulogy caught his shoulder.

"You, bring me my gun and my sword. I'm coming with all of you. I want to be the one to kill Wukong and see the life drain out of that little bitch,"

Dove nodded once, and dashed towards Eulogy's pad to grab what Eulogy asked him to. When he found himself alone, he smiled to himself.

"And here I was, starting to get bored,"

**oo0oo**

Roman Torchwick went over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of whiskey, and poured himself out a very large measure into a small glass. At first, he didn't notice the four figures that were hiding within the shadows of his apartment within the Tops casino of New Vegas. However, after taking his first mouthful, he almost jumped and choked on his drink when he noticed Cinder Fall across the breakfast bar. Then he sighed and smiled smugly.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you came back looking for me," the only reaction he got was a smug grin from Cinder, and then he noticed Neo, Mercury and Emerald behind Cinder, unmoving, patiently waiting by their employer's side.

"Any of you want a drink?" he asked, pointing towards his freshly opened bottle of whiskey.

"No, thank you, we're fine," Cinder said, her same smug grin still painted on her face, "how have you been, Roman?"

"Please skip the pleasantries, and tell me what you are here for," insisted Roman, as he slid on a chair next to him, enjoying a second, smaller mouthful of alcohol.

"Well, well, well, this isn't the Roman I knew two years ago. Very well, I have a final job for you. You do this, you'll never here from me again, and you can walk away a very rich man,"

"Cinder," Roman puts his glass down on the table and whipped out a cigar from his breast pocket. Instinctively, Cinder fished out a lighter from her pocket before Roman could reach for his and lit his cigar for him. "Thank you. Now, while I do enjoy working with you, give me a good reason why I should go with you on this job. After all, I already have plenty of money" he lied.

"Well," Cinder starts to pace around the bar, her eyes never leaving Roman. "A little birdy down stairs tells me that's not exactly true. You, apparently, are starting to run out of your hard earned money, that you can barely afford to continue paying for living here. If you do this job, Roman, you won't have to worry about money ever again,"

Roman watched the smoke trail of his cigar pensively. It was true, he was due to be kicked out any day. In fact, it was a surprise he hadn't been kicked out already. And even though part of the reason why he wanted to go was to keep this apartment, he also found another reason entirely.

He was bored.

While Roman liked living in a city that provided for his every whim and desire, he missed working for the talon combat company. Taking a few more puffs of his cigar, he sighed out gruffly and finally turned to Cinder.

"What's the job?"

_(Notes: OK, I was in the writing zone after working on a chapter for one of my other stories, "growing up" and I wanted to add drama and advance the plot in this story, since I feel like that the convoy only seem to be cutting about from place to place. I'm sorry if you guys find this chapter boring, but I wanted to paint some history to this AU, even if it is not canon, as well as advance the plot a little bit. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and expect to see a lot of action in the next, if not, the one after that. Also, I went back and added a few bits to story and corrected A LOT of mistakes in the previous chapters. I haven't edited much, but feel free to have a re-read as I can guarantee you the story is a lot more better quality than when I started writing this a couple of months ago. Anyway, enjoy and adios!) _


	12. Chapter 12: The gathering storm

Eulogy and his men ran deeper and deeper in the wasteland. Eulogy rarely checked to see if his men were following. A part of him knew that they were too greedy to let up the idea of their next big pay day, another part – the part of him that was driving him forward – wanted to plunge his blade deep into Sun Wukong's neck. For too long, he had been nothing but trouble for the master slaver. For years, he had stole his equipment, released his stock, and kill off his men. No more, though. Eulogy always got he wanted. He really didn't care about the Schnee girl. If she got caught in the crossfire, then so be it. He would try to prevent her death, but her life not as much to Eulogy as Sun's death would be. This was a rare moment in Eulogy's life.

This was a moment when he didn't let the businessman in him control him.

This was a moment when he kept the beast in him – usually docile and tethered – loose upon fort Wukong.

And anyone who stood against him.

**oo0oo**

Sun, Sage, Scarlet and Neptune patrolled the outer perimeter. Not of necessity – since Sun and Ruby had activated the defence system – but out of sheer boredom. Usually there was always something to do – check out food and ammunition stocks to see if they needed anymore, sort out any incoming contracts, repair any badly damaged equipment, test the defences and countless other chores, some necessary and others that Sun considered tedious.

However, today, there seemed to be a serious lack of any task to do that hadn't already been done. They had more than enough ammo and food to last them a good few months at the rate they were burning threw it, all of the contracts were in progress and it didn't look like any clients were coming in soon, and most of the equipment was in order. Even Scarlet's badly damaged armour – the result of a personal encounter with a rather unusually large Super Mutant Behemoth – was now in pristine condition. The only sign of any damage was a large scar in the metal running across the chest plate, where Scarlet welded the area that had pretty much imploded. The only chore left to do was to test the defences, which was almost complete anyway. Though the task was drawing to its conclusion, there was a suspicious thought that was starting to nag at him.

The defences weren't as strong as he thought they were.

By his calculated estimations, Sun guessed the current defences were enough to repel most assaults, but his fear was an organized, full mounted siege. It had happened once before, and the opposing forces had pushed them back to the doors of the hangar. He had a lost of good men – whittling the proud mercenary group of three hundred and sixteen at the time to a measly dozen - and the fort had taken an equally damaging blow. It took endless caps to bring the fort back to its former glory. Even now, the body count was not as high as the Wukong's glory days. If another strike were to happen before more recruits came in or soldiers had finished their contracts, Sun feared it would be the group's killing blow. While the likelihood of an attack of that magnitude happening again was extremely rare and unlikely, it was something that still hung around Sun and refused to leave him. He would have to go looking for new blood, maybe even a few security bots-

"-So what do you think, Sun?" Sage asked Sun, breaking his train of thought.

"Huh?"

"That white haired chick, think she's got a chance with me?" Sage questioned, accompanied with a cocky grin. At this, Sun gave a chuckle and an eye roll. Either his friend wasn't as perceptive as Sun gave him credit for, or maybe it was just that Sun had spent more time with Yang's convoy than he realized.

"Nah dude, I think she's got the hots for Ruby,"

"Ruby? You mean little red?" Scarlet asked, to which Sun gave a single nod. Instead of having Neptune's wounded look whenever he got turned down, Sage gave a soft smile.

"Her and red, huh? Yeah, I can see it, now that you mention it."

Smiling once, Sun looked past Sage, into the distance. The spot he was looking at was a hill, with some rock outcroppings at the top, covering much of the south east corner of the fort. Ignoring the ensuing conversation which his three companions were having amongst themselves, he inspected the point with the mindset of a seasoned tactician. It was an attacker's dream come true, and the defender's worst nightmare. The rocks could give a great amount of cover from any sort of projectiles that came from the direction of the fort, as well as the other advantages higher ground provided. The only way it would give the defending group any leeway was that the imaginary assaulters would have to eventually push forward if they wished to capture the fort. It was a problem which Sun would have to conquer later, whether by installing a permanent defence on the top of the hill, or by using an unholy amount of explosives to flatten it out. Though it had been there for much longer than the fort, it was a problem Sun rarely had the opportunity to fix, focusing more on improving the fort itself. Slipping out of his thoughts, he turned to his three friends, and stuck on an artificial smile to hide his worry, as he was about to address them.

"Looks like our rounds are done, Gents. Nep, you might want to call your security contact. Our defences could do with some improving, me thinks."

**oo0oo**

Yang and Blake both finished their third check up of their personal inventory. Yang had made an executive decision to leave in a couple of days, in light of them needing to continue trading. While Ruby and Weiss disappeared to explore the depths of the fort, Yang and Blake stayed in their room and took the responsibility of prepping the convoy for movement, and both girls stood back with folded arms once they had finished checking up, surveying the neatly arranged goods with pride, and a hint of happiness and relief. Sun had bought almost all their trade items for a very generous price. Yang sniffed once with a smirk as she recalled the reasoning behind why he parted with such a large amount of money so easily.

"Hey, I got more caps than I know what to do with right now. We both know you could use the money more than I could, and we both know you could do with getting rid of your stock."

Though the Wukong mercenary group now owned a lot of Yang's old stock – by Blake and Yang's count – the remaining goods they had was enough to travel comfortably with but still make a pretty penny on. Yang finally broke her stance and started putting all the items back into the convoy's bag packs, with Blake following suite. Though, Blake occasionally gave her girlfriend side glances which Yang returned with a smile, they didn't say much.

"So, what's the plan?" Blake asked, breaking the silence.

"For now, just head west. Cut through Arizona, do some trading while avoiding the legion as much as we can, then New Vegas. Maybe even stay in California for a while," Yang answered without taking her eyes of the bag pack she was slowly filling,

"I like every part of the plan, except the New Vegas part," Blake joked, which got a laugh out of Yang. While Yang was a party animal, she usually kept herself cool and collected, for the sake of professionalism and not having to cause too much trouble for Ruby or Blake. However, Vegas was a regular destination for the group, a place for everybody to let loose, Yang more than anyone. The thought of the closest thing the group had to a holiday was blissful. Shaking the thought from her head, she kissed Yang gently on the cheek, getting a bright blush and soft smile from her girlfriend. However, as soon as the blush subsided, Yang turned her head towards the doorway.

"Where the fuck are those two?"

**oo0oo**

"You sure we are supposed to be here, Ruby?" Asked a very concerned Weiss, as she barely ducked her head to avoid hitting the top of the doorway of the vertibird her and the little redhead were stepping into.

"Don't worry about it," Said Ruby. "We won't get into trouble," Why should they get into trouble? She wasn't going to touch anything. She just wanted have a look. Ruby stepped into the pilot's seat and marvelled at the vast expanse of technology before her. A vast collection of dials, levers, buttons and other gizmos was displayed before Ruby. She couldn't help but stare in marvel. At first glance, she had no idea of any of their purposes or intents. Upon further inspection, she could identify the altimeter, the button for retracting landing gear, and the joystick for steering. As she was concerned, she was good to go. But all she did was sigh and slouch back in her seat. She said to Weiss she wouldn't do anything to get them into trouble, and was going to keep word. So, instead, all she did was play around with the joystick, pushing it forward and leaning it from side to side. Her playing didn't last long, as Weiss popped over around into the cockpit, very clearly annoyed.

"What are you doing, Ruby? What if someone catches-"

No sooner was she about to finish off her sentence, when both of the girls heard the double doors at the far end of the hangar bang open. With lighting quick reactions, Ruby popped out of the pilot's seat, and tackled Weiss into the main compartment of the vertibird. For a few seconds, they simply lay there and listened as hard as their hearing could allow them. It felt like an eternity before the double doors banged shut again. Ruby and Weiss breathed out a single sigh of relief before looking at each other.

"Ruby, do you mind terrible if we go back now?"

**oo0oo**

Eulogy and the remaining slavers had arrived at the rock outcropping where Cardin currently hid ages ahead of when Dove expected them to. Night had already fallen, and the only source of illumination came from the fort. Though much of them were beyond exhausted, Eulogy still stormed ahead with hungry determination, next to where Cardin lay, surveying fort Wukong through a pair of binoculars. He kicked Cardin's side, signalling his arrival.

"What the fuck…Oh hey, boss! I never expected you here!" Said Cardin, scrambling to his feet, wiping off the dust that was on his front.

"Gimme the sit rep."

Cardin gave a single nod.

"There is an automated system of turrets on the perimeter, and regular patrols. Three squads of four making regular rounds, all armed with assault rifles and heavy armour,"

Eulogy gave a nod, then turned to his slavers. Most of them were sweating hard and panting heavily, while Cardin's men were cleaning their guns. All of them looked to Eulogy, waiting to hear the next line of business,"

"Alright, ladies and gents. I want you to take ten. Then, I want four snipers to take out those guards. Once you've done that, I want that turret system knocked out,"

"With what, boss?"

Eulogy took a quick look at the arsenal the group took with them, and picked up what he was looking for. He picked up a missile launcher with one hand, and a fat man in the other, with great ease.

"I'm glad you asked, because we are going to use these. I want them to know we're coming,"

_(Notes: Ok, so this chapter was going to a different way, because I was originally going to have a bit of white rose loving going on in the vertibird, but some shit happened, and I decided to take a different path. Anyway, expect the action in the next chapter. Stay tuned, and hope you enjoy. I would also like to thank everyone who has followed, faved and reviewed this story. I would like to give a shout out to Ann E. Casap who has reviewed every single chapter of this story and given me some good suggestions for how this story should go, as well as for how this story should go, as well as weasel AKA boundedsumo who has commented on every third chapter. If you guys have any ideas how to take this story, or any suggestions, please feel free to give them out. Thank you, all you awesome beings, and hope you continue to enjoy this. Adios!)_


	13. Chapter 13: Siege at Fort Wukong

The silenced snipers made short work of the mercenaries on patrol. The first fat man projectile was a warning shot, barely causing any damage to the building. However, the violent explosion was enough to shake the foundations on the facility.

Sun, Scarlet, Sage and Neptune felt it first. The explosion sounded like a faint boom and it caused dust to fall from the ceiling. The four men reacted almost instantly, working together without one word having to be said amongst them. While Sun and Neptune ran to the mercenary's quarters to ready any soldiers that weren't already awake, Scarlet and Sage – along with other Wukong mercenaries - made a mad dash to the armoury to prepare for what would surely be a very long night.

Yang and Blake felt the impact shortly after, rousing them from their packing. The explosion sounded a little more distant from where they were but the reverberating shockwaves still were powerful enough to violently shake the room. Blake looked to her partner and leader with wide shock, both for an explanation as to what was going on and for a command to do. Yang turned to her with a look of steely determination as she holstered two revolvers to her legs and slipped her hands into Ember Celica's gloves, ready for a fight.

"Grab Gambol Shroud, and find Ruby and Weiss! Looks like the Fort is under attack."

Almost as soon as Blake slipped her blade into its sheath, Ruby and Weiss ran into the room, accompanied by Sun. Instead of his traditional armour, he had adorned a heavy T-45d power suit, and had switched his usual assault rifle for a giant railway rifle.

"Ladies, grab whatever weapons you can and put the rest of your gear in one of the vertibird's. If the worst comes to worst, I want to be able to fall back as soon as possible," Said Sun in a rushed voice. He was silently glad he had a giant helmet on, because he couldn't bear to look the group in the eye. "I don't want to scare you guys, but I will not lie to you either. You hear those guns?"

The whole group stood silent, listening to the explosions that followed, shaking the room violently.

"By the sound of it, they got some heavy artillery. I don't know if we will be able to hold the Fort."

All the girls nodded once, fully comprehending the severity of the situation. Yang was the first to speak up.

"What should we do?"

"Sooner or later, whoever is firing on us will have to push into the fort. The defence system outside may be able to thin down their numbers and give us time, but not by much. My men are creating barricades in the corridors and getting ready for the assault. You should probably do the same," And with that, Sun ran back into the corridor, the power armour mechanically whirring with each stride. Yang turned to the rest of the convoy, who were standing ready.

"You heard the man. Grab what you can, and then I want you guys to take the rest to the vertibird. We'll meet up with the other when we are done,"

Everyone gave a single nod and ran to do their duties. While they did this, Yang put leather armour on over her usual attire and double checked her gauntlets and her two borrowed magnum revolvers to see if they were fully loaded. Satisfied, she ran out into the corridor after Sun, getting ready for the ensuing siege.

**oo0oo**

Eulogy has purposely ordered his men to attack the facility, but only in a way that provided minimal damage to building. With the firepower he had, he could have easily levelled it to the ground.

However, that wasn't what he wanted.

With the fortifications, the weapon and ammunition stockpiles, and the isolated location, the Wukong facility was a much more beneficial location to the slaver's operation than Paradise Falls ever could be.

Eulogy held up his fist, signalling his men to cease firing on the base. He quickly assessed the damage the building had sustained. A few wild shots hit the side of the building but did very little to warrant any expensive repairs. He turned to his men and spoke out again finally.

"Leave the fat men here. We don't want to damage the interior too much."

The slavers obeyed and stashed them behind a rock. He signalled for his slavers to move forward, unaware that the many missile launcher and fat man projectiles missed the few turrets that Ruby and Sun got running just days ago.

The slavers started towards the facility, close enough for the guns to register the intruders. The four guns fired out rapidly in a simultaneous fashion, striking down a good few slavers. One stray bullet even caught Eulogy on the shoulder before the remaining survivors all raised their weapons and emptied their cartridges and gun chambers as fast as they could, making short work of the machines. Eulogy groaned as he felt a sharp pain where he had been hit, and then looked at the patch of skin where the bullet had gone in. It was lodged deep in the muscle and sent massive jolts of intense pain when Eulogy tested how bad it was. Not thinking twice, he dug his fingers into the wound and dragged the piece of steel out with some difficulty, then stuck himself with a stimpack that sat in the pocket of his red suit jacket. With the effects of the drug taking almost immediate effect and feeling a numbness replace the pain in his shoulder, he ordered his men to continue pushing forward, unaware of what waited behind the double doors.

**oo0oo**

Despite the short notice Sun had to prepare, he and his men – along with Yang's convoy – had prepared very quickly, creating make shift barricades out of tables and junk, setting up different traps in the corridors, blocking off certain rooms, and swapping out their traditional armour for thicker combat armour and power suits and their usual assault rifles and pistols, for heavier and more powerful weapons – such as miniguns, plasma weapons and light machine guns. Some of the traps were as simple as frag mines and tripwires that triggered grenade bouquets, while some were more technologically minded, like pressure plates that activated shotguns and even some of the facility's robot defences. The men were lined up behind makeshift barricades that were set up at regular intervals in the corridors that from the front entrance to the hangar, where the vertibirds sat prepped for launch in case they were forced to retreat.

A group of eight men, including Sage, Scarlet, Sun and Neptune were waiting patiently for the ensuing invaders to break in, their weapons aimed at the front door. Finally, the door kicked open and the first of the slavers busted in, but the mercenary's made quick work of him. The amount of bullets and railway spikes that came from them shredded the slaver into pieces. However, more and more slavers came in and started to fire on the mercs, to little avail. Sun and his men kept on firing, but it seemed like they were fighting a pointless battle. For every slaver they took down, three more came to take their place. Soon, the bullets were starting to wear down quickly on the heavily armoured mercenaries and finally, the first of the defenders fell when a stray bullet got a lucky shot through the eye slit on his helmet.

" Fall back to the next barricade!"

And so the men did as they were told. They ceased their fire and sprinted towards the next defence line, though with their heavy equipment, they were still fairly sluggish. Luckily, the cleverly hidden traps took out a few slavers and bought the mercs a few precious seconds to move to the next point of defence. One pressure plate activated three nearby sentry bots, but before they could attack on any of the slavers, two of them with leather armour and miniguns tore them apart. They quickly advanced around the corner to the next barricade and started firing upon Sun's group. Luckily, they ducked behind cover before any of the bullets started firing. Sun turned to the others.

"Guys, if we don't deal with these fuckers soon, they are going to tear the barricade to ribbons. Any of you got grenades?"

Smiling devilishly, Scarlet unhooked a plasma grenade off his belt and tossed it lightly in the air. Not waiting for Sun's command, he activated the grenade and popped up over the crates to launch the grenade at the advancing attackers with all of his force. But when the grenade left his hand, a bullet pierced a weak point in his armour, cutting through his shoulder like a knife through hot butter. The power of the bullet sent Scarlet sprawling to the ground in pain. Sun scrambled to his side and tried to pick him up, but Scarlet pushed him away and got back up with a grunt.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch,"

As soon as he said this, the plasma grenade went off, melting the two attackers, but another group of men quickly took their places.

"Fall back!"

And so the pattern continued, with Sun and his group of mercenaries defending and retreating as soon as the attackers came too close to the barricades or got too thick in numbers. While Sun's men had created the barricades, they also blocked the doorways and entrances to certain rooms, forcing the slavers to go where sun wanted them to. Eulogy was too enraged at this point to notice he was walking right into a trap, but Cardin was well aware enough of what was going on to instruct his squad to stay behind, fearing an ambush.

When Sun, Scarlet, Sage and Neptune – along with their remaining men - had reached the final barricade at the doorway to the hangar area, they were joined by an extra four. Ruby and Blake with their sniper rifles, Yang with a pair of scoped magnum's, and Weiss with a hunting rifle that she borrowed from the mercenary group were all crouched behind cover and read to attack. Like the other soldiers, they had donned thicker armour than they usually wore, which they borrowed from the mercenary group. As they waited for the next wave of invaders to come around the final corner, Sun and Neptune chuckled to themselves. Weiss turned to them with a scowl on her face.

"What exactly is so funny?"

Sun turned to Weiss with a dastardly twinkle in his eye and a sharp, devilish grin on his face.

"Let's just say we got a little surprise for these assholes in the hangar."

**oo0oo**

Eulogy took a look at the slavers that still stood after the continuous strings of attacks. Many had fallen, but there were still many more standing. Though much of the heavily armoured men had died in the first string of attacks, the remaining men were battle hardened veterans who had worked for Eulogy for a long time. They would be insanely tough to kill.

"Alright, men! Let's push onwards!"

The first group of men ran out and started firing but were very quickly cut down. One of them though – a man named Ymir – was lucky enough to roll out of the way before any round could do any serious damage, the only bullet barely scratched him on the leg.

"We got snipers." Ymir stated, through gasps as he put pressure over the large cut on his leg where the bullet had passed.

"How many?"

"I don't know. Three, maybe four."

Eulogy did a quick risk assessment and quickly signalled for a missle launcher to be tossed to him. Catching it with relative ease, he tried to fire it with one hand. Though he was strong, the launcher was unsteady and it flew out of his hand when he fired. However, its desired effect and hit the barricade square, knocking the defenders flying through the set of double doors

"HAHAHA! THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T FUCK WITH SLAVERS!" Eulogy shouted. He could almost taste victory. "ALRIGHT, LADIES AND GENTS! LETS FINISH OFF THESE FUCKS!"

A giant cry rose from the slavers and they all rushed towards the door to finish the siege and take over the fortress. However, Cardin grabbed his men before they could follow on wards.

"What are you doing?" he asked, in a harsh whisper.

"Come on, boss! We almost got this!"

"You idiot! Think about it, we have seen maybe eight of those mercenaries. where are the rest of them?" The other men opened their mouths as if to talk back, but then thought about what Cardin said. Dove finally turned to Cardin.

"Don't you think we should warn them?"

Cardin shook his head for two reasons. Firstly, Eulogy was too stubborn to listen. Secondly, he had more selfish goals in mind.

"I got a better idea. Come on, we are heading back to Paradise Falls."

**oo0oo**

Ruby sat up and shook her head, her ears still ringing from the explosion. While it did little to no damage, the shockwave from the missile's impact was powerful enough to knock everyone flying back into the hangar. Blake was already up, carrying an unconscious Yang, Weiss had just got up and was shaking her head, and Sun was signalling down towards his men. Ruby turned and saw the surprise Sun was talking about.

All of the Wukong mercenaries had their guns pointed towards the entrance, and all of them undoubtedly had itchy trigger fingers. But that wasn't all. Three of the vertibirds were hovering above the ground and had chain guns pointed towards the front entrance, while the two larger models of vertibirds sat grounded, but ready to take off at a moment's notice. It would've been a miracle if anybody could survive the magnitude of bullets that were going to be flying at them.

"RUBY, WEISS! GET OUT THE WAY!" Ruby heard Blake shout, and she obeyed with lightning fast reactions. When Weiss didn't respond immediately, Ruby ran to her and helped her out of the firing zone, just in time for the doors to bust open.

Then chaos erupted.

The sounds that came was deafening as every rifle, pistol, and machine gun unloaded into the ensuing attackers. Ruby dove forwards with Weiss and hit the floor, then scrambled to cover Weiss' body with her own, protecting her from any potential damage. Ruby heard a missile fire from the doorway and saw it collide with one of the flying vertibirds, causing it to spin out of control and crash into a small group of Wukong mercenaries, crushing a few and knocking the rest flying forward. The survivors continued to fire in the direction of the doorways as if nothing had happened for a solid minute. Then, under Sun's order, they ceased fire. He, Sage, Scarlet, and Neptune ran up to see for survivors. Ignoring the damage that was done and the large pile of bodies that had accumulated, they quickly noticed Eulogy at the for edge of the collection of dead, trying to crawl away with a thick bloody trail following behind him. He turned and made direct eye contact with Sun. He tried to reach for his gun with one bloody hand, but Sun kicked it out of reach. Eulogy looked up into Sun's eyes in meek surrender.

"Please…have mercy."

Sun signalled to Sage, Scarlet and Neptune. All three men rushed forward and Scarlet grabbed Eulogy's left arm and stretched it out, Neptune did the same with his right, and Sage held out both of Eulogy's legs. Sun stomped on Eulogy's chest to hold him firmly in place and fired a railway spike into his left hand, pinning it down to the floor. Eulogy let out an animalistic cry of pain and tried to thrash out, but Sun's comrades held him firm.

"Eulogy Jones, you come into home…" Sun said menacingly, letting off another spike into Eulogy's right hand. Eulogy's cries only grew in volume and pitch as small pools of blood started to form where metal had pierced flesh.

"Kill and wound my friends…" Sun shot a round into Eulogy's left foot.

"Destroy my vertibird and damage my place…" Sun shot a final round into Eulogy's right foot, pinning him completely to the floor. Sun's friends took this as a signal that their work was done and stood back. "AND YOU HONESTLY EXPECT ME TO SHOW MERCY?! HAHAHA!" Sun let out a laugh that was without humour and laced with menace, before aiming the end of the railway rifle at Eulogy's forehead, who was hyperventilating and had the look of a hunted animal that knew it was about to receive the killing blow.

"I honestly don't think you are in any position to bargain with me."

The last thing Eulogy heard with mechanical ping of the rifle and whoosh of the spike being delivered deep into his skull, spraying the floor with his blood and killing him instantly. Sun admired his handiwork and felt a surge of pride as he knew one of the greatest evils in the wasteland was finished off by his hands.

"Am I fuck cleaning that up." Said Neptune.

**oo0oo**

Cardin looked out at Fort Wukong, when his mind started to whir into overload. If Eulogy was dead, then that meant that he no longer had a death sentence on his head and he was finally free of the slavers. He looked out at his old squad, as two thoughts came into his head.

He could take over Paradise Falls.

Or he could simply run free.

Cardin was about to reach for his revolver, but quickly noticed the fat men that Eulogy stashed earlier. He picked one up as quickly and as quietly as he could, aiming it at his old comrades, who continued to march back in the direction of Paradise Falls, unaware that their lives would be shortly ended.

If I am to be truly free, Cardin thought, there can be no survivors of this attack. Cardin let off a round, just as Dove turned around. In those moments, time seemed to slow down for Dove and Cardin. As Dove saw the mini nuke that was about to end him glide ever closer, he reached into his holster as fast as he could and grabbed the submachine gun that hung there, firing off three rounds before the mini nuke exploded at his feet, obliterating him and his comrades in an instant. The first two bullets barely missed Cardin's head, while the final one met his forehead, gliding through his brain effortlessly and killing him just as quickly as the explosion killed Dove and his two comrades.

_(Notes: I'm sorry this chapter took longer than expected, I started it after Christmas, but with writer's block and personal stuff, I only managed to finish it just now. The barricade and retreating idea came from the film "outpost". If you haven't seen it, go watch it, it's a good movie. Also, cheers to Ann E. Casap who gave me the idea of Sun killing Eulogy, though I apologize that I pinned him to the floor instead of the wall. As for Cardin killing off his squad so he could be free, that was just a random idea I came up with proof reading this. Also, I have a huge announcement. I have been offered an unpaid position to write for Fortitude magazine, an online magazine. So if you could check that out in the future, that would be cool as hell. Anyway, thank you for being patient with me and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Hope you guys have a happy new year and Adios!)_


	14. Chapter 14: Aftermath

Neptune shovelled through the last clump of dirt from the final grave, and stopped to wipe off his forehead after all his work. Under Sun's request, he and a small group of other Wukong mercenaries were asked that the bodies of their enemies also be buried along with their comrades, his reasoning being to have some respect for the dead.

"They may have attacked us, but they were still human,"

Neptune shook his head at the thought. Granted, he admired Sun for many of his qualities, his respect for others was among one of them. However, he didn't expect him to go this far. Neptune didn't believe that if the battle had been won by the slavers, that they would have shown the defeated mercenaries the same amount of decency. Putting that thought to the back of his mind, he dragged the body of Eulogy Jones, holding back the urge to vomit as he pushed the body into the hole he had just finished digging. Eulogy only had a pair of boxers to cover his modesty, as Yang decided to take his outfit.

"Such a nice suit shouldn't go to waste,"

Neptune didn't exactly blame her. To the victors go the spoils, as the saying went. With that being said, Neptune pulled out a combat knife out of his belt and leant into the shallow grave where Eulogy lay and sliced a finger off his hand. The Wukong group were also all official regulators, as were the members of Yang's convoy. The regulators were a group of vigilantes that tried to maintain justice throughout the wasteland wherever they went by killing off the villains and evildoers of the wastes. Raiders, slavers, murderers, all manner of criminals. To prove the deed had been done, all regulators had to return one finger off the body of their victims. Neptune pocketed Eulogy's finger. Neptune smirked to himself.

A valuable bounty, he thought.

**oo0oo**

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were as much a part of the attack as were the rest of the Wukong mercenaries. So when Sun announced that he wanted to get the fort back into working order, they instantly volunteered to help out. While Blake and Yang where helping the construction crew repair damages that the building and the crashed vertibird had sustained, Ruby and Weiss were helping out the medics as best they could.  
Yang chose to help with the repairs as she favoured manual labour above everything else, whereas Blake enjoyed analysing a problem, then solving it. Ruby had always wanted to help people and she helped mend wounds many times before, on herself, on Yang and Blake, and even simple strangers who lacked the medical supplies or knowledge to do it. While Weiss was a novice at healing, she admired how Ruby was helping everyone and how invested the little redhead got in healing different wounds, and Weiss learned quickly.

One particular patient had a rather large piece of shrapnel from the damaged vertibird stuck in his belly, and this was Ruby's first patient. The man was still alive, but suffering greatly. Ruby could have offered him some vodka, but alcohol was a blood thinner, and as much as she felt for this poor man's suffering, she was worried in case he bled out. In the end, she explained the dilemma to the patient.

"Just…gimme the vodka…please….it hurts so bad,"

Weiss took this as her queue and gave the poor man a bottle of vodka, which he gulped eagerly. Ruby prepared her tools and kept them close, as she would have to act fast. She requested a flamer and a length of metal from Weiss, and she rushed off into the base to find it. Worried, the mercenary looked up and talked to Ruby.

"Why do you need that?"

Frowning, Ruby answered him truthfully.

"When I pull the metal out of your body, I am going to have seal up the wound as quickly as I can. So, while I promise it is going to hurt and it will probably leave a scar, I promise it'll be better in the long run," The mercenary paled but nodded his head, just as Weiss rushed in. Carefully, Ruby held out the length of metal in front of the flamer and turned it on but only to a degree to that flames weren't coming out, but an invisible, intense heat. Pretty soon, the metal was glowing white hot. Ruby put the flamer down and went to the mercenary, who was sweating pinballs and still drinking his vodka as though his life depended on it. Ruby motioned to Weiss to come over. Though she was nervous, she obeyed.

"Weiss, I need you to pull out the metal hard and fast. As soon as that is done, fetch me a stimpack and another bottle of vodka to ease the pain," Ruby turned to the wounded solider with a smile.

"After this, I think you'll have earned it," The solider laughed, and then took a deep breath.

"Alright, fuck it, let's get it over and done with,"

The procedure was over quickly, but it sounded painful. Weiss was strong from years of training with her father's employee and her short time with Yang's convoy, and pulling out the metal was easy, though it slid out with a sickening squelch. As soon as this was done, Ruby tried to ignore the man's painful moans and burned the open wound, sealing it up. Ruby was surprised at the amount of restraint the mercenary had. Instead of screaming out in pain, he kept it to a load groan, gritting his teeth hard. Requesting a large bowl of water, Ruby got it soon from Weiss and used it to cool down the cool hard metal. While she did this, Weiss injected a single stimpack into the burnt flesh, which elicited a pleasurable sigh from the solider. She handed him a bottle of vodka and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder as he cracked it open and downed the bottle as though it were nothing. Finally, she turned to Ruby.

"Anything else we are required to do?"

"Well, this guy for one, should recover easily, so we are done here. There are a few burn victims and people with broken bones that need mending?" Said Ruby, as she cleaned her hands.

"Well, let's get to it," Announced Weiss.

"You sure? It isn't going to be much prettier than this," Ruby said, wiping her hand clean for the next patient.

"I said, let's get to it," Weiss said in a stern tone of finality. Ruby smirked to herself, shook her head and walked towards the next unfortunate soul.

**oo0oo**

As Cinder Fall looked over the map of surrounding area back within the safety of her bunker, she took a look at her accomplices who flanked her, not really paying attention to the solider giving her a situation report. Presently, she couldn't care about the other contracts at this moment in time. All she was concerned with was finding the Schnee girl. She would do anything to get her. And with Emerald, Mercury, Roman, and Neo, it wasn't a question of how she was going to get Weiss. Simply when she would get Weiss.

"…and that concludes my report on the contracts within the area, ma'am." The solider finally finished off.

"Thank you solider. Now what of the Schnee girl?" Cinder asked, this time genuinely interested in what her mercenary had to say.

"Our scouts have reported a girl matching the description of Weiss Schnee heading West with a small trading convoy. The last sighting was here, at the Wukong mercenary compound." The solider pointed to a small point on the map. This caused Cinder to think. Her target was deep in enemy territory, and while nothing would have brought her more pleasure than to see one of her biggest competitors wiped out forever, this contract was a delicate matter that needed to be handled with finesse and care. A full frontal assault ran the risk of the girl getting caught in the crossfire. With a simple hand motion, she beckoned the solider to return to his post. He gave a single salute, and obeyed.

"What you thinking, boss?" Asked Torchwick.

"A full frontal assault is too risky of a move. I suggest we take a vertibird until we are a couple of miles away from the fort, go in, search the area without anyone noticing us, and try to secure the target," Cinder answered, her mind already made up.

"Awwww, why can't we kill anyone?" Neo asked, a small sad pout on her face appeared while she was cleaning her blade and two pistols since she got here. Cinder smirked to herself. You and your fucking bloodlust, she thought.

"We don't want to attract attention,"

"What do we do if the girl moves out?" Roman asked.

"Emerald and Neo are the best trackers I have ever met," announced Cinder. "If she moves, we'll simply follow her until we catch up with her. Now, any questions?"

All of her accomplices remained silent.

"Then we leave tomorrow morning"

**oo0oo**

By the time evening had arrived, all that needed to done around the fort was done, with exception of the damaged vertibird, which needed an engine replaced. Otherwise, all was well when everyone decided to wind down for the night. Sun and Neptune lay cuddled in Sun's room, just snuggled together and talking.

"I am so angry that the turret system barely lasted a fucking day before those fucking slavers came along, and they fucked shit up, they've hurt my friends, killed poor Jeremiah, and…UGH!" Sun was in the worst of moods, but Neptune always knew how to calm him down. Holding him closer, he planted a small kiss on his forehead and brought his head to his chest.

"You know, you're kinna sexy when you're angry," Neptune joked.

"Shut up," Sun chuckled, punching Neptune square in the chest, though it wasn't hard. Neptune put on a theatrical performance of being in pain, and they both laughed. However, Sun tightened his hold on Neptune.

"Thanks Nep. Got to give it to you, you always know how to cheer me up," Sun shut his eyes with a smile. Neptune smiled, running a hand through the boy's wild locks and giving him a small kiss on the top of his head.

"No bother, it's what I'm here for," Neptune closed his eyes, and they both soon fell into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, in the room opposite, Weiss was holding a tired, whimpering Ruby. She understood that what she had went through today must've been taxing on her. Suddenly, Ruby woke suddenly, caked in sweat and panting heavily. Weiss hushed and held her close.

"You were just dreaming Ruby, its ok," Weiss said before Ruby had a chance to say anything. Just to prove the point that she was fine now, Weiss planted a small kiss on Ruby's lips and held her close. Ruby's breathing started to slow and was about to fall back into sleep when she noticed something, but thought nothing of it. However, Weiss rolled her head to the side and noticed the same thing Ruby just saw.

"Where are Yang and Blake?" She asked innocently. Ruby chuckled internally, and kissed Weiss gently but held it for a few seconds. When she pulled away, she smiled softly and stroked the white haired girl's cheek.

"Don't worry about them, they'll be fine. Can we just cuddle?" Weiss smiled and pulled Ruby close, both of them snuggling into each other, falling into sleep. Ruby thought to herself: I hope Yang is treating Blake right. She chuckled to herself, than internally slapped herself. Fuck sake, she thought, my pervert of a big sister is growing on me.

**oo0oo**

"OH FUCK! YANG!" Blake gripped her girlfriend's hair as Yang continued to go down on her. What started off as a casual drink in the canteen between the two had escalated into a state of fiery passion in the back of one of the vertibirds. Pulling away from Blake's centre, Yang smirked and climbed up on her girlfriend, kissing her softly with her juices still on her lips. For the time being, Blake couldn't care. It had been a while since her and Yang had any intimate alone time between just them and they both needed this.

"Was it good for you too?" Joked Yang as she pulled away from Blake's lips and winked. Blake rolled her eyes, but smiled, gripping Yang's mane.

"Shut up, and kiss me, you idiot," And Yang obeyed, much to Blake's amusement. Yang may have been in charge of the convoy, but it was times at this that Blake wore the pants in the relationship. Well, she thought, ideally no one is going to wear the pants in our relationship. She slightly chuckled to herself, which caught Yang's attention.

"What's up?" Asked the blonde, still smiling that little cocky grin that Blake loved so much. She shook her head, and looked back into Yang's amethyst eyes, idly stroking her cheek.

"Nothing, I just love you," Yang smiled and planted a small kiss on Blake's lips, before Blake had an idea and picked up Yang and flipped her around, causing the girl to squeal in surprise.

"What you doing?" She chuckled.

"You," Blake said, in a matter of fact-ly tone, then pulled down Yang's trousers and pants simultaneously, before looking back up at the blonde with a cocky grin. "What? You think I was going to let you give me head and not return it? Babe, that's just rude."

**oo0oo**

Cinder looked over the plan thoroughly. Then she looked again. And again. And for good measure, she did it once more. This was possibly the biggest pay off of her life and she couldn't afford to make any mistakes. Any slight flaw could result in ending things completely for Cinder. It had to be absolutely perfect. Sighing, she put her face in palms and rubbed her temples. Out of nowhere, she heard the mechanical door to her office open to reveal Emerald. She was dressed in a simple shirt and a pair of trousers with armoured knee pads and shin guards, painted in a coat of jet black paint.

"Can't sleep?" asked Emerald.

"No, just looking this over. I can't afford to make a mistake on this contract," she felt herself about to go in a rage of frustration, but then she felt Emerald's fingers rubbing her shoulders with careful tenderness. As soon as she felt contact, Cinder could feel the tension in her melt and she gave out another sigh, though it wasn't in frustration. It was pure pleasure.

"You won't, you always succeed," Emerald smiled as she kept on massaging Cinder, feeling the knots in her shoulder loosen into nothingness. Emerald felt a huge amount of attraction and respect towards Cinder. If it wasn't for her, she would've still been picking people's pockets back in New Reno, or worse. It was Cinder who plucked her off the streets and made her into something more than just a small time thief, who stole food just to survive. She owed Cinder everything. She decided to do the daring move and planted a small kiss on Cinder's neck. However, Cinder was expecting this. She had spent too much time with Emerald and she knew what she was thinking. She quickly took down the mint haired girl, but in a way that would hurt the girl. She clamped her hand around her throat, but Emerald simply giggled, while Cinder grinned evilly. This wasn't in anyway a threat. It was a small game they played. Cinder slipped her free hand down Emerald's trouser and navigated her way to her centre, and started to rub gently. Emerald bit her tongue to stop herself from moaning. Noticing how hard she tried to hold back, Cinder took this as a challenge, but she knew how to push Emerald's buttons. And sure enough, after a few seconds, she was like putty in Cinder's hands. She was all hers. Deciding to stop teasing the woman, she clamped a little harder on Emerald's throat and rubbed faster, eager to finish her off. After a minute, Emerald was screaming her satisfaction, not caring who heard. Feeling she had done a job well done, she picked up Emerald, who was trembling and sweating. Leaning up, Emerald cupped Cinder's cheek and gently kissed her.

"I missed you so much," she whispered, leaning her head into Cinder's chest. Grinning, the ebony haired woman rocked the mint haired girl gently, occasionally planting kisses on her head.

"And I missed you," Cinder happily whispered. It was a small pleasure of hers, getting Emerald off. And it was just the perfect stress reliever, seeing one of the most talented criminals she had trained reduced to a panting, trembling body.

_(Notes :Full disclosure, I wasn't sure how to go about this chapter and I apologize if you guys didn't want fluff or smut in the story. That said, it was a random idea, and I thought "Why not?" I may go back and edit this in the future. Anyway, putting this story on hold until I have done the majority of my uni coursework. I hope you guys enjoy this and ADIOS!) _


	15. Chapter 15: Preparations

Though they had eventually planned to leave the safety of Fort Wukong in order to continue trading, there was still so much that Yang's convoy had to do, and Yang's pride could only accept so much of Sun's charity. So instead of continuing to drain the mercenary's extensive pool of supplies, Yang and Ruby took it upon themselves to go hunting and scavenging in the surrounding area for supplies. However, since the mercenaries picked the nearby ruins clean when they set up base and there was a huge lack of wildlife, their efforts were more or less fruitless, only managing to find some scrap metal and bagging a couple of mole rats. Still, Yang and Ruby said they would continue until duskfall. So, they continued to trudge through the dusty wastes, making sure to keep Fort Wukong within their line of sight to avoid getting lost. Their luck seemed to change as they picked out a faint trail within the sand.

"Do you think we'll find anything worthwhile?" Asked Ruby. Instead of using Crescent Rose, she swapped the large sniper for a simple hunting shotgun, which she kept at the ready.

"Who knows?" Yang said, quickly examining the trail. Two sets of paw tracks. One set was larger than the other and the tread marks were heavier than the second set. Something else that Yang noticed about the first set of tracks was that they dragged slightly. One of the beasts was either wounded or ill. Getting up from her crouched position, she picked up her own hunting rifle that she had borrowed from Sun and followed the trail, Ruby staying close behind. As the paw tracks continued to get more and more recent, the girls started to hear a faint growling. On alert, they raised their weapons, ready for action.

"Deathclaws?" Asked ruby, cocking her shotgun once.

"Probably not, but I certainly hope not. That would be a bitch to deal with," Half joked Yang, though inside she was on full alert. Taking a single deathclaw with the firearms they currently had would prove to be a challenge. Taking out two with small guns – even if it was a single mother and her cub – would bare little success for most people, even for experienced killers like Yang and Ruby. Though she was sure the tracks couldn't have been made by deathclaws, she wasn't going to take any chances. Instead, what they found at the end of the trail was something a lot smaller. Two Yao Guai lay behind a large rock. By what Yang could assume, it was a mother and her cub. Unlike the healthy beasts she was used to running into in the capital wasteland, these two were starved, merely skin and bone. The mother was on her side, while the cub nuzzled it and called out for attention. The mother didn't move at all. Ruby holstered her weapon completely, and slipped off her rucksack and rummaged around for what she was looking for. Feeling her hand touch something cold and wet, she grabbed it and tossed a slab of mole rat meat to the cub, who turned away from its dead mother and trudged towards the meat. Yang, however, didn't lower her guard and watched the whole thing without saying anything. As the cub started to take small chunks of the meat, Ruby turned to her sister.

"What should we do?"

"He won't last long without his mother." Yang aimed her rifle at the cub's head. It would've been cruel to leave the cub to fend for itself. Besides, she was eager to get a much more valuable meal than a few simple mole rats. However, Ruby quickly stepped in the way, blocking Yang's line of fire.

"NO!" At this, Yang lowered her rifle and rolled her eyes, but gave a soft smile at her sister's ever kind heart. Even if it cost them a hearty meal.

"What do you want to do then?"

"We take him with us!"

Yang chuckled slightly, but didn't lower her weapon further.

"You want us to adopt him? A wild beast?" Yang was about to protest about how illogical it would be for Ruby to take a feral beast and expect it to be tamed just like that, but then she found the cub nuzzling Ruby's leg. Even when Ruby bent down to scratch the bear's head, the Yao Guai did not attack, but merely nuzzled the top of its head against the palm of Ruby's hand. The redhead looked up at her sister, and flashed her most innocent smile as though to say "I win". Rolling her eyes again, she pulled out a knife and was about to cut up the mother, but then Ruby ran in front of her sister's path, followed by the cub.

"Are you really going to cut up Zwei's mother in front of him?" At this, Yang raised her eyebrow.

"Zwei? What's Zwei?"

"That's…what I have decided to call him. There a problem?"

Yang grumbled to herself but left her opinions to herself. Putting her blade in her belt, she merely huffed.

"Whatever. Not enough meat on her for me anyway," Ruby smirked at this remark, and fished into her rucksack to get another slab of meat for her new pet. With new found vigour, the small bear gnawed at the meat greedily, snapping it up in seconds. Yang looked back at the dead mother, with mixed emotions. The first emotion was a feeling that the cub would be in good hands.

The second was the screaming feeling in her stomach at throwing away such a large meal.

Maybe she would come back later for it.

**oo0oo**

As the vertibird buzzed across the sky, Cinder sat with her back straight, stroking her chin thoughtfully. The report from her scouts showed that the group her target was with was at Fort Wukong. A frontal assault would be a foolhardy move, any decent strategist with a brain knew that. While she did trust Neo as one of the most stealthy – if not, the stealthiest – assassin she knew, it would be hard for Neo to bring a second person out of the base against their will without being noticed. Between Neo's value as a trained assassin and the worth of the Schnee girl, it was too much of a gamble for Cinder. She preferred her moves to be calculated, thought down to the final detail, never relying on something as unpredictable as chance or luck. Therefore, the only logical solution would be to wait until her quarry decided to leave the base and strike them down in the open. Another option was to steal Weiss away while the group rested in a town or on the road. While it wasn't really her style, Cinder anticipated that it was the best option. She looked around at her comrades, each of them fidgeting or cleaning their weapons, clearly itching for some action.

"Ms Fall, we are five miles from Fort Wukong,"

The voice of the pilot snapped Cinder from her thoughts. Climbing out of her seat, carefully avoiding the other members of her crew, she climbed into the cockpit and issued orders for the pilot.

"Drop us off here. Any closer and they'll spot us. We'll continue on foot. We'll meet you at these co-ordinates," commanded Cinder, typing in on a small panel next to the pilot. Nodding once in confirmation, the pilot began to make a descent. Cinder picked herself up and was about to shout for her crew to prepare for landing, but already they were rushing to grab their gear, adjusting their armour and holstering their firearms. Smiling to herself, she picked out her own gear, ready to move as soon as the vertibird touched the ground.

**oo0oo**

"You sure you can't stay longer?" Sun asked Yang, who was adjusting a final pack on a Brahmin that he had lent her. He took a quick look around at the others who would soon be leaving him. Ruby was on the ground, being licked to death by an ever growing Zwei. Weiss stood by and watched the whole spectacle, scolding Ruby for not acting more her age. Blake was cleaning her modded sniper rifle, looking out into the distance. Sun smirked at the sight.

He was going to miss his extended family.

"Sorry, Sun. Duty calls, you know how it is," Yang flashed her trademark grin, turning away from her pack and walking towards the leader of the Wukong mercs, embracing him.

"I'm gonna miss you, Sun"

Usually, this display of camaraderie and love would have melted anyone's heart. However, Yang – as usual – underestimated her strength and any happy feelings that Sun felt vanished as soon as he felt his bones strain under the pressure of Yang's muscular arms.

"Yeah- I'll miss you too!"

Thankfully, Yang's assault was short lived as Zwei stopped attacking Ruby long enough for her to push the beast off and come towards Yang and Sun.

"Yang, I think you are hugging him a little too hard," Ruby said with a small smile, trying not to laugh at the sight before her.

"Huh? What you on about" Yang stopped hugging Sun and turned around to face her sister, causing the blonde man to fall to the ground, feeling like a crumpled tin can. Thanking the lord for Ruby's intervention, Sun slowly started to feel blood rush back into his veins and got up unsteadily, only to be hugged by the redhead. Looking down, he saw the small girl give a childish grin. Returning the hug, he felt slightly sad. Out of Blake, Yang, and Ruby – who he loved dearly – Ruby was the closest thing he had to a baby sister. He would miss them all, but Ruby the most.

"You take care of your sister and Blake, alright?" Sun whispered.

"Don't worry, I always have, I always will." Ruby half chuckled, but pulled away when Weiss and Blake came by, probably to issue their farewells as well. Ruby pulled away and went back to tending to Zwei, who started nibbling at the edge of her boot for attention. Weiss stood by Sun and extended her hand, smiling.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Sun,"

"Don't be silly, Weiss! You're family now, come here!" Sun embraced the white haired girl, and though at first she was surprised by the suddenness of it, she grew quickly used to it after being around Ruby so long. However, she kept the embrace short and sweet, signalling it was Blake's turn to say her goodbyes. Sun blushed slightly at the girl he used to have such a huge crush on, but kept his emotions in check and held out his hand to be shook the way Weiss did. However, Blake pushed his hand away and hugged him tight.

"After saying that family get hugs and you don't offer me one? You're a dick," Blake joked. Sun laughed and returned the hug, enjoying Blake's presence. However, he let go before he could let the hug carry on too long and turned back to Yang.

"You sure you don't need anything? Not more ammo? Goods?"

Yang shook her head, her grin not leaving her face.

"No, we got all we need. Thank you for everything,"

Sun smiled, rubbing the back of his hair sheepishly, but he spoke out with confidence.

"Always a pleasure. You better come back soon, you hear me?"

"Soon, I'm not so sure but I promise we'll turn up eventually." Yang laughed, before she noticed the convoy moving away. Blake was running ahead to do her usual routine of finding a good sniping spot, but she quickly flashed a look to yang as if to say "You're stalling now,"

"Anyway, we'll see you soon," Yang waved a final goodbye, and jogged slightly to catch up with the rest of the group, who were a good distance ahead already. She smiled at the recent memories they had made. Despite the attack, she had a pleasant time recuperating and doing…other things within Fort Wukong. It felt good to see her old extended family, and have a little fun with Blake. She smirked at the thought. I sure feel bad for whoever has to clean the inside of that vertibird, she thought to herself. Weiss had just as good memories. It was fun to finally meet one of her heroes and their parting couldn't help but make Weiss happy. The corners of her mouth went upwards as that phrase kept on ringing in her head.

_"You're family now!"_

Weiss looked over Ruby, who was cheerfully skipping along with a large, energetic Zwei following close behind, and then to Yang, who flashed a grin and gave a friendly wave in her direction. Somewhere in the distance, she knew Blake was watching over them protectively with her sniper. Weiss smiled to herself finally before focusing on the long road ahead.

She finally found a place where she belonged.

_(Notes: Ok, I was feeling inspired so I decided to shell this chapter out real quick. Uni work is just boring the shit out of me, and I needed a little pick me up. I know Zwei is a corgi, but I don't know, I wanted to entertain the idea of him as a bear, and I thought it would be kinna cool to introduce him to the story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and ADIOS!)_


	16. Chapter 16: Strangers around a campfire

It had been days since the convoy left the safety of Fort Wukong and the pleasant company Sun and his soldiers provided, replaced only by the vast loneliness of the wasteland. The sound of their feet scratching against the dirt, the soft growls of Zwei, the nervous snuffling of the Brahmin, and the occasional chit chat was the only sounds they could hear. Even though their new Yao Guai companion Zwei and Blake's trusty abilities as a sniper couldn't pick anything out of the ordinary, everyone still stayed on edge. It was unusual to have gone such a long time travelling deep within the wasteland, and not encounter anything. The only activity that provided them with any sort of entertainment was playing fetch with Zwei, using different rocks scattered along the convoy's path as makeshift balls. While at first it was fun and sated the group's boredom for a time, it very quickly became routine and lost its appeal after a couple of days. Still, Ruby continued to do it long after everyone else had given up, merely for something to do.

"Go fetch," Ruby droned, tossing a rock as hard as she could in front of the convoy for the expectant Yao Guai to chase down. As per usual, he pelted after it, huffing all the while. He easily found it and sauntered back to Ruby, dropping it at her feet before looking back up at her. Ruby smiled softly to herself. Even though she got bored of this activity long ago, another reason she kept on doing it was to see the amused expression that Zwei seemed to have every time he dropped the rock at Ruby's feet. Picking it up again, she lobbed the rock hard. Yang watched the rock make its journey across the sky and land hard a few feet ahead of her before a blur of black fur and muscle rushed by her. Yang took a closer look at the bear. Though it had been a week since Ruby found the starved little cub, regular meals and exercise made him into a beast, and he was still growing up fast. Yang worried silently if her sister's pet would stay tamed for long.

However, Yang's worry stopped when Zwei stopped suddenly in his tracks, and started sniffing the air. This was enough to spur the group into action. Yang readied her gauntlets, Weiss kept her hand firmly gripped around her gun-sword, and Ruby swung the blade end of her sniper-scythe into the ground and looked down the sight. Though Blake was doing her usual routine and was hidden away from the group, Yang could take a guess that she had her sight trained on whatever had caused Zwei's strange behaviour. Sure enough, four lone figures appeared upon the horizon, turning from dots in the distance to four human silhouettes. Finally, silhouettes gave way to human shapes.

They all looked like they belonged to some sort military group. The leader of the group was a small woman who a maroon coloured uniform, a pair of aviators, and a black beret with the emblem of a two headed bear. Under the beret was short cut, brown hair. What seemed most out of place for her immaculate uniform was the large minigun that she carried. Her other companions wore thick, maroon armour and each carried different weapons. The other woman in the group carried a well polished assault carbine, but unlike her male comrades, her armour was slim fitting and not at all bulky. It was thin and black, but judging by the numerous scratches and bumps from bullets, could - and had - taken a lot of damage. As well as this armour, she wore a brown, withered overcoat that flapped wildly in the wind. The third companion was an orange haired man, who carried two bladed gauntlets. His armour had a thick fur hanging off his left shoulder, and a set of leather pouches running across his chest. The final companion was a behemoth of a man. The majority of his body was hidden behind thick, steel grey power armour with a yellow two headed bear painted on the chest plate. Other than his huge size, and his even bigger set of power armour, the other clearly noticeable feature was a large bumper sword hanging off his back.

Yang couldn't help but feel nervous around them. Their attire screamed soldiers of the New Californian Republic – the leader looked like some kind of officer, the second woman wore the black riot armour and coat that was traditional of ranger veterans, the third companion looked like a foot solider, while the final man was an NCR heavy trooper - but their unconventional weaponry was setting off a red flag in the blonde's mind. Yang had ventured westward many times, and even had friends within the Californian military, but it was exceptionally rare that soldiers from different sectors working together in small squadrons was rare. What was even rarer were soldiers with load outs of their choosing. Yang didn't like it one bit. As though she were telepathic, the smaller woman in the beret holstered her minigun and raised her hands up in surrender.

"HEY, WHOA THERE! WE'RE JUST PASSING THROUGH, NO NEED FOR THE HOSTILITY!" She shouted out, stopping her advance and holding her fist up in as a signal to stop to her comrades, who obeyed. This comforted Yang and her convoy. Ruby – though she kept the barrel of her large sniper pointed towards the group – she eased her hold around the grip and moved her eye away from the sight. Yang relaxed from her fighting stance into a standing position, though her hands stayed tightened. Weiss however refused to ease up. After everything that she had been through, Yang couldn't really blame her. Yang towards the strangers, and retorted back.

"CAN'T BE TOO CAREFUL THESE DAYS, SORRY!"

"I SUPPOSE YOU'RE NOT WRONG!"

Yang smirked as the two leaders continued to have casual banter in the midst of a standoff.

"YOU'RE A LONG FROM HOME, OFFICER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS FAR AWAY FROM HOME?"

"IF YOU AND YOUR THREE FRIENDS WOULD BE SO KIND AS TO HOLSTER YOUR WEAPONS, WE CAN HAVE A NICE CALM DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS! AND YES, I DO NOTICE YOUR FRIEND UP THERE IN ROCKS! MAKE SURE SHE COMES DOWN!" The officer shouted, and as though to prove her point, she tilted her head up towards a small outcropping of rocks on a nearby hill. At first glance, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but Yang was perceptive enough to notice the edge of Blake's boot peaking out, as though she were lying prone.

Yang cursed under her breath. Against any opposition, Blake would've been an amazing asset, but against an experienced military squad, Blake would've been essential if the group were to escape a fire fight with their lives. Since they lost the advantage, Yang sighed and waved her hand, signalling Blake to come down, who rushed down to join with the others. Though her lover's presence was welcoming, it did not to do much to ease Yang's nerves into a feeling of peace.

"RELAX, MISS! WE DON'T INTEND TO CAUSE ANY HARM! WE'LL HOLSTER OUR WEAPONS AND COME OVER!" Though the officer's words were intended as a comfort, Yang still felt uneasy. Though it was unlikely that a fight would break out, Yang still wanted to make sure everybody on her side would get out alive should a fight break. It was clear that the opposing party had the advantage. However, Yang thought if they were clever about it, they could make it out in the likely case of an attack.

"OK, COME OVER!" Yang shouted, and then she talked at a volume that only the rest of her convoy could hear as Ruby and Blake put their weapons safely away and Weiss eased her hand off the grip of her sword gun.

"Listen good, coz I am only going to say it once. I don't trust these people, so be ready to strike at the first sign of trouble. Ruby, Blake, the ranger and the officer are our immediate threat. We might be able to stand a chance against the trooper and the heavy trooper, but that minigun and assault carbine can tear us apart. Ruby, if shit goes down, you shoot the ranger. Even if you don't get her in the head, your sniper rounds are thick enough to pierce her armour and cause some damage. Blake, you take down the officer. Weiss, you go for the trooper, I'll go for the heavy trooper. Am I clear?" All three girls nodded their head once, making Yang smile. They had the element of surprise if the other group proved to be hostile, and while Yang couldn't completely ensure it, her plan would ensure the group's survival with a bit of luck. Finally, the NCR squad was close enough to make contact with Yang's convoy. The woman in the beret stood up to Yang, with a small smirk.

"I assume you speak for the rest of this group?" She asked calmly, to which Yang gave a small nod and a smirk of her own. Satisfied with her response, she held out her hand for a handshake. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet you. I apologize if you felt threatened at all by myself and my colleagues." Yang looked down at her hand and firmly shook it.

"It's quite alright, Ms…?"

"Coco Adel. New Californian Republic Intelligence Corps."

Yang nodded. Zwei trudged carefully towards the Coco and started sniffing her hand. She neither her travelling companions flinched at the sight of the approaching Yao Guai. Tentatively, the bear licked Coco's hand. The officer smiled and stroked Zwei's snout first, then moved on to scratch his head. As she did this, Coco turned behind her, eyeing the dying sunlight through her shades before speaking to Yang again.

"There's maybe an hour or so of daylight left. Would you care to have dinner with us? My treat for our rude introduction,"

**oo0oo**

The convoy sat around a small campfire that night, accompanied with the NCR squadron. Yang reluctantly agreed to Coco's invitation for dinner, still not sure on her stance of the newcomers. However, the rest of the group warmed to the NCR squad almost immediately as they introduced themselves to each other. Despite the hostile appearance of the first impression gave them, each of the NCR squad were friendly and welcoming. The veteran ranger – by the name of Velvet Scarlatina – was very shy but was polite and sweet. The trooper – Fox Alistair – was very gentlemanly towards Yang and her friends. Even the heavy trooper - _Yatsuhashi_ Daichi – who at first was the most intimidating in the group, was the dictionary definition of a gentle giant. He and Ruby got on exceptionally well over dinner. They were now talking amicably over an assortment of different foods the NCR squad took with them, ranging from dried meats to outdated grocery items, like Salisbury steaks. Despite the friendly atmosphere, Yang still wasn't sure about the newcomers.

"What are you doing this far away from home, Coco? I have never seen an NCR squad made up of so many corps, or any NCR this far east, for that matter"

Yang's question silenced all of the group, killing the happy and cheerful atmosphere, and instead replaced it with tense silence among the camp. Sighing, Coco pulled out a black set of combat armour.

"As I told you, I am from the intelligence corps of the NCR. Recently, a settlement at the edge of our borders came under attack by a military outfit. They all wore these." Coco took the armour and threw it easily at Yang's crossed legs. As it landed, the armour kicked up a bunch of dust and sand, but Yang could still see a single white symbol against the solid black, signifying who it belonged to.

Talon Company.

"The attacks grew more and more frequent, so my superiors started to send out scouts to see where this threat was coming from. Eventually, they were tracked to the capital wasteland. To answer your question, Yang, we are the cleanup crew."

"Ok…so let me get this straight. Your head honchos back west decided to send a small four man crew to wipe out the largest and most dangerous mercenary company this side of the country?" Yang asked in surprised, receiving a few nods from Coco and her companions. Yang burst into hysterical laughter and started rolling about on the floor, which did not amuse any of the present company, but they waited patiently for Yang to stop. When she finally sat back out, she barely gasped out.

"Oh man! Haha, I wonder who you must've pissed off to get landed with that death wish!"

"We've dealt with worst odds before-!" Velvet suddenly hissed out, before being cut off by Coco.

"No, no, Velvs, let Yang speak," She said, eyeing the blonde curiously.

"Well, missy, these bastards don't fuck around. They got it all, muscle, guns, financial backing. These psychos take all the contracts the other mercs won't. It's going to take a lot more than just four solider boys to take them down,"

Coco sat back slightly, as though gradually absorbing what she just heard. After it seems as though she finally accepted, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took a single cigarette before sparking it in the campfire and taking a smoke. Yang shrugged and slapped her legs, sighing aloud.

"But I guess that's just me, you came this far, I don't expect you to turn around now, this close to your goal. Anyway, I'm going to turn in for the night," Yang said with a tone of finality, and used the leather overcoat she wore as a make shift blanket. The rest of Yang's convoy and Coco's squad took this as a signal to retire as well. Ruby laid her head against Zwei's huge torso, while Weiss cuddled to her chest and used a blanket to cover them. Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi made beds of camping mattresses and passed out on them almost immediately. However, Blake and Velvet silently took off into the darkness to keep watch, by an outcropping of rocks.

"So…do you think it's impossible?" Velvet timidly asked Blake, to which she shrugged while setting up her sniper's nest for the night.

"Many have tried and many have failed before, but I wouldn't say it's impossible. With the right amount of planning, I think it would be possible to take out Talon," Velvet drank up her words, and started to set up her own position a few feet away from Blake. And so they settled in for the night, unaware of scheming eyes nearby.

**oo0oo**

From a distance away, Cinder and her crew were quietly loading up, surveying the campsite and preparing to move in. Cinder carefully watched over the proceedings below, all the way to them retiring, Blake and Velvet taking watch over the camp, judging her next move all the while this happened. It was going to be difficult. Her only solution was to pacify the snipers, then strike hard and fast to get her target. Getting back up, she quickly gave orders to her soldiers.

"Neo, there are two snipers to the north. I want them taken care of. Everyone else, on my signal, lay down suppressing fire. Pick off any resistance but be careful not to hit the target. Understood?" Everybody replied with a single nod, and disappeared to their positions.

Neo rushed off towards the north with an evil smile. She wouldn't be needing her guns for this.

_(Notes: ok, it's been a while, I apologize if this chapter is sub par. I do plan to go back and work over this chapter, but so far, I'm happy with what I came up with. As always, stay awesome guys and ADIOS!)_


	17. Chapter 17: Firefight in the Twilight

When Ruby woke to the sound of Zwei snuffling nervously and wandering around the edge of the campsite, she thought nothing of it at first. The only thoughts going through her head was trying to process what was wrong with him. Maybe he had just woken up in the middle of the night, and was raring to go. Maybe he got scared that the fire died and was scared of the dark? Could Yao Guai see in the dark? All these thoughts rushed through Ruby's tired head before she finally made a decision. Shaking her head, Ruby whipped off her cape which had been her makeshift blanket for the night and shook off the dust that had gathered on her clothes.

"Alright, you big baby, what's up with you?" She grumbled sleepily, dragging her feet towards the bear. However, she started to grow concerned when she heard him growling softly. "What's wrong, boy?" she softly asked, crouching next to him and scratching the back of his neck softly, squinting into the obsidian darkness, but couldn't see anything. Just as she was about to silently comfort her new pet, she noticed something out the corner of her eye. It wasn't a figure, shape, shadow or discernable form. It was just a movement, but it was enough to place Ruby on guard. Taking Crescent Rose off her back, she slowly scanned the horizon multiple times. By the time she checked a few times, she was about to give up and go back to bed, convincing herself it was her imagination playing tricks on her.

But then, she heard a soft tread close to where Blake and Velvet were keeping watch. Panicked, she went to investigate, painstakingly using every amount of effort she could not to give herself away, Zwei following silently close behind. As she neared the spot where her companions were hidden, she noticed a figure hovering over Blake and Velvet. Shaking her head, she inched closer and closer, hoping she was just imagining things. But as she got closer, she realized it was actually a person, making out vaguely long hair, and one arm raised above her.

And in the hand, she held a long, thin blade.

Without a moment's hesitation, she fired straight at the assailant, the muzzle flash of the gun revealing the two forms of Blake and Velvet prone on the ground, and a short, pale skinned woman standing above them, before the scene grew dark again and Ruby heard the sound of metal cut through flesh and the woman grunt, then the sound of her body hitting the ground.

Then anarchy erupted as muzzle flashes and gunfire shattered the silence and darkness of the night.

**oo0oo**

Yang slept very lightly, even in the most secure of settlements, so when a fire fight suddenly surrounded her, she was up and ready for action in moments. Most of the sounds of gunfire came around her and from the ridge above her, while she counted three muzzles flashes at the spot where Blake and Velvet were camped out. She then scrambled around the camp, seeing if everyone accounted for. The NCR squadron were armed, and laying down a suppressing fire at the spots where the muzzle flashes came from above the ridge. Weiss was there too, shooting at whatever she could with her weapon.

There was no sign of Ruby.

She looked around more, maybe hoping she was behind the other forms of her allies. After all, the majority of them easily were taller than her and some of them were bigger than her in general. However, a second closer inspection still yielded to results. This panicked Yang to no end.

"WHERE'S RUBY?! WHERE THE FUCK IS RUBY?!" She screamed above the deafening sound of muzzle fire. She looked back towards the spot where Blake and Velvet were laying down fire against the hidden assailants. She noticed that the third gun firing was actually Crescent Rose, and realized it was Ruby as the brief flash from the sniper fire illuminated the small redhead's easily recognizable hair hidden behind the scope of her beloved weapon. She smiled, but not before she noticed something else out of the corner of her eye that was a new cause for worry.

Deathclaws.

A whole pack of them.

Yang gasped and her eyes widened in fear. The raging firefight must've drawn their attention. Yang stood there, paralysed with fear.

The alpha male was almost on top of her.

Yang would have defended herself, but she knew even her gauntlets wouldn't be enough to take out the beast that towered over her single handed, and one swipe of the Deathclaw's huge talons would have torn through flesh, muscle, and bone easily before she could scream out to the others for help.

So, she stood there, ready to accept her fate as what she imagined was going to be her lasts thoughts of Blake, Weiss, Ruby and her other friends rushed through her mind, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, welcoming her death right there and then.

But the blow never came.

Instead she heard a huge thud and the sounds of flesh tearing, wild animalistic screaming and growling. When she opened her eyes, she noticed the alpha Deathclaw was on the floor, screaming wildly and thrashing at the large form of Zwei who was stood on top of its chest. The once tame bear now tore savagely at the Deathclaw's throat, blood splashing the surrounding sand. The Deathclaw got one or two lucky hits on Ruby's pet, scratching his thick hide, but if anything, it didn't seem to hurt Zwei. It only made him bite and claw faster, weakening the much larger beast rapidly. While this threat was being taken care of, Yang noticed that Yatsuhashi turned his screaming minigun's path of obliteration towards the remaining members of the pack, turning the vicious predators into bullet hole covered corpses in seconds. Soon, Yang could hear the gunfire around her slowly stop. Finally, the only sound that could be heard was Zwei tearing into the now dead alpha male. Yang laughed and whooped, glad they had all survived this ambush with no casualities. She then turned to see Ruby rushing down from the sniper's nest and running past the campsite, her gun still unholstered.

"Hey, Ruby! Ruby, get back here! Where you going?" Yang dashed after her much faster sister for the longest time, not caring if the group followed her, not even caring if Blake followed her. All that mattered to Yang right now was getting her sister. Ruby could have easily outrun Yang had it not been for a loose rock which knocked Ruby's balance off, causing her to trip and tumble. Still, she tried to pick herself up and keep on running, but Yang took her little sister's blunder as an opportunity to catch up to her. Bending down, she scooped Ruby up and held her sister.

"Whoa, Ruby! Calm down! What's wrong?!" Yang yelled to the kicking and screaming form of her little sister.

"Let me go, Yang! Let me go!" Screamed Ruby, pushing her sister's arms with all the force and strength she could muster, desperate to get out of her sister's vice-like grip, but all it succeeded in doing was tiring out her more. Finally, all she could do was struggle, and then, she simply stopped and burst into tears. Holding her close, Yang fell to her knees, tucked Ruby's head under her chin, and her hard grip softened into a loving hug.

"Shhhh, it's ok," Yang whispered softly to her crying little sister, rocking her gently and rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe her.

"No, it's not. They took her. They took her." Ruby cried in between her sobs.

"Took who?" Yang asked softly, taking Ruby's face in her hands and tried to look into her sister's eyes. Despite the lack of a fire or any other light source, the moon and stars illuminated the surrounding area and Yang could see into her little sister's tear filled eyes. It broke Yang's heart to see her little sister like this. She was always so happy and joyful, even in the destructive and dark place that they all called home, but now, she looked broken, miserable, with a hint of anger glowing in her eyes. Everything that she didn't expect to see from Ruby.

"They took Weiss,"

**oo0oo**

"Testing, testing, can you read me?" Cinder asked, tapping the earpiece which sat snugly in her ear, waiting for responses from her team.

"Read you loud and clear." Mercury simply said.

"Same on my end," Emerald answered.

"Oh, Cinder, your voice is like music to my ears," Roman retorted, his usual snarky tone striking a few chords within Cinder. But she swallowed down her annoyance, and instead brought her mind to the task at hand.

"I'm in position. Emerald should've taken care of the snipers by now. On my mark, I want you to fire at the group, but try to avoid killing them if you can." Cinder commanded.

"Uh, boss, I have a question. What happens if Neo doesn't take care of the snipers?" Roman asked. At first, Cinder thought he was being his usual, difficult self.

"Neo would never betray me, Roman, you should know that. She's too loyal,"

"I know this, as are we all! But this is Deathclaw country. Let's say something gets the jump on her, what do we do then?"

Cinder quickly took this information in, recalculating her plan. Granted, the removal of the snipers would help the operation go more smoothly, but it wasn't necessary, more insurance for Cinder's own safety. However, it would be a real shame if Neo were to get killed by a deathclaw. To her, Neo was not just an investment or an asset like the rest of her soldiers were. She felt some sort of attachment to everyone who was on the assignment with her, though she couldn't call it friendship. That, and the people she hired on this job were the result of years of training, and cap spending. If she died tonight, it would be a huge loss to her. Taking a deep breath, she made her decision.

"If that happens, so be it. We're professionals, we'll work around it" Cinder replied finally. Hearing a grunt on the other end of the line, she assumed that Roman's questioning was finally over. "Ready on my mark…NOW!" Commanded Cinder, but a muzzle flash coming from her right side alarmed her. Despite this, the surrounding area turned into a battlefield just as she planned. Though the first gunshot surprised her, Cinder shrugged it off and unholstered a single silenced pistol in one hand, while taking a needle filled with a clear liquid out of one of her pouches. As soon as the firing started, Cinder took advantage of the ensuing chaos to get close to the group, and it seemed luck was on her side. As well as the suppressing fire her comrades laid down, a pack of Deathclaws also were keeping the convoy busy. As Cinder approached Weiss – who was the furthest away from everyone - she quickly injected the needle that was in her left hand into Weiss' neck, making the girl limp in an instant. She would have hit the ground had Cinder not caught her. Dragging her form away, she hit the earpiece again, this time contacting her pilot.

"Reese, this is Fall. Do you copy? Over," Cinder spoke into the earpiece, hoping for some response. Though she was confident in her employee's ability to look after himself and the aircraft he was left in charge of, the wasteland was a dangerous place, and sometimes bad luck struck. However, luck still proved to be on Cinder's side, as a new but familiar voice spoke to her

"This is Reese, reading you loud and clear, boss. I'm guessing you have the package?" The pilot asked.

"Yes, requesting a pickup back to HQ,"

"Way ahead of you, I'm already in the air. I'm reading your location now, and you're pretty close. ETA to pick up: 50 seconds. Over and out," The pilot announced, which made Cinder smile widely. The Deathclaws would wipe out the convoy, and Cinder's task force would have disappeared long before they started hunting for more fresh meat. Switching back to another channel, she commanded her group pull back. Within seconds, the vertibird had landed close by and her group was gone. Neo hadn't turned up, so Cinder assumed the worst, but she wasn't about to wait with Deathclaws nearby. Swallowing back her bitterness, she commanded the pilot to take off, much to her comrade's hidden shock and disapproval. While Cinder was bitter at the loss, the operation was a success and she got away without anyone noticing.

Or so she thought.

She didn't notice the one scope which had stopped firing to her right, and followed every single one of her movements. As soon as the vertibird landed, Ruby abandoned all thought, and dashed straight towards it. She could hear the whine of the minigun and the bangs of the other guns stop, and Yang's voice take over, but she didn't listen to her.

All that mattered was saving Weiss.

She made good distance and was very close to the vertibird when it took off, and even as it flew away, Ruby still swallowed back her tears and dashed after it, but it was useless. It was soon gone.

And so was Weiss.

**oo0oo**

"They took her…they took Weiss," Ruby cried. But these weren't tears of sadness. These were tears of rage, of anger. She loved Weiss and whoever dared take her would pay.

"We'll find her," Yang said finally, tightening her hug around Ruby. "I swear to you, we'll find her," Yang promised. And it was a promise that she would to do anything to keep.

_(Notes: MAN! It's been a while! I'm sorry, but I have just been so busy lately. And I'm also sorry if this chapter is not up to par. Quick announcement: I plan to finish this story by the 28__th__, because I started it on the 28__th__ of August last year, and it would be cool to wrap it up on that date. No promises, but expect this story to come to an exciting *hopefully* conclusion. Thank you guys for all your support, still a few more chapters to go still, so stick around. I hope you guys enjoyed this and ADIOS!)_


	18. Chapter 18: Check

_Blake looked down at the sleeping form of Yang, and couldn't help but smile. Blake found it hard to believe that she was able to get by without Yang. She was her lover, her best friend, her soul mate. Before chance brought the two together, she was only surviving, trudging through day after torturous day. _

_Now she was her reason to live._

_Kissing her girlfriend delicately on the cheek, she quickly dressed herself, sleepily slipping on a loose tank top and camouflage trousers before putting on a pair of damaged boots, not bothering to tie them up, instead tucking the laces into the inside of her boots. Giving her sleeping lover one last look, she got up and left the room, starting to explore the vast corridors of the Wukong complex so that she could find the exit and get some fresh air. A short walk and the cold evening air always helped her on nights when she had trouble sleeping. Much like Yang who occasionally suffered nightmares from her bloody past, Blake remembered her years being a property of the Legion, suffering under the sadistic rule of the bull. Were it not for the sacrifice of Adam Taurus, she would still be there. At the time, he was a praetorian to Caesar, the youngest in the legion. Blake remembered him sadly. She had no idea of he was still alive, but she knew that even with such a prestigious title to his name, Caesar would not tolerate what he had done. Blake only prayed that the life of an escaped slave didn't mean that much to Caesar._

_Before she realized it, she was on the walkway of the wall that surrounded the courtyard of the Wukong facility. Besides the flood lights that illuminated the enclosed area in a blaring light, the surrounding wasteland was blanketed in darkness. The thought of hidden dangers patrolling the night was a very concerning idea to Blake, and despite the patrolling guards, she couldn't help but be put on guard._

_"Out for a late night stroll?" a voice said close behind Blake, breaking her train of thought and surprising her._

_Blake sprung to action. Though she didn't have her beloved Gambol Shroud with her, she was far from defenceless. Dropping to the ground, she spun around and spread her legs out, catching the assailant's ankles, making his body hit the walkway with a hard thud. Blake got back up and pinned the attacker down with a knee to the chest, ready to punch the attacker in the throat when she realized who it was._

_"You know, I've always wanted you on top of me," Sun joked. Blake rolled her eyes, and got off of Sun, standing up and holding out her hand to Sun, who took it and pulled himself back to his feet._

_"I'm sorry, Sun, I didn't realize it was you," Blake apologized._

_"Meh, it was my bad for sneaking up on you," Sun groaned, bending his arm round to rub his sore back, before smiling at Blake. "Looks like you've nailed the ranger takedown though. You are going to have to thank Pyrhha next time you see her,"_

_Blake nodded once, agreeing with Sun. Out of all the friends who chose to take a different path from trading with Yang's caravan, Pyrhha was probably the most successful in her endeavours, enrolling in the NCR military and being promoted to an NCR veteran ranger within a matter of months. Jaune obviously joined her and was pursing a similar career, but unlike his wife, he had only just been promoted to sergeant the last time she saw hem ._

_"I wonder how her and Jaune are doing," Blake said, looking out into the darkness of the wasteland. "You seen them recently?"_

_"Last time I saw them was two months ago. The NCR hired us along with a group of their forces to map out the north. With most of their forces still fighting the Legion, they needed the extra manpower. But you know what Jaune and Pryhha are like, happy as long as they got each other." Sun said, finally, before his voice suddenly turned more serious. "You guys are leaving soon, aren't you?"_

_Blake nodded slightly, not taking her eyes away from the darkness._

_"Listen, Blake, we've always looked after each other, so I want you to take this," Blake turned to Sun, who was handing her a small radio. "A little something from the NCR we've adjusted. You guys run into any trouble, we'll come running. Don't hesitate to use," Blake took Sun's gift, and smiled at him._

_"Don't worry, I won't,"_

When Blake used the radio after Weiss' kidnapping, she didn't know what she would be expecting until she saw three vertibirds belonging to the mercenary company flying towards them at great speed, and revealing six fully armoured squads carrying enough weapons and equipment to start a small war, led by Sun himself. Blake, Ruby and Yang were very quick to explain what had transpired the night before, explaining everything from the woman who tried to kill Blake and Velvet to only be stopped by Ruby, all the way to the capture of Weiss. Sun listened carefully the whole time, processing all this information and not speaking until he was sure they had all finished their piece. Finally, he told them to all come back with him he promised he would do whatever he could in his power to help them find Weiss.

A week had passed since the events of that night transpired. The woman who had attempted to kill Blake who was their only lead to where Weiss might be, and Sun wasted no time in unleashing hellish pain on her to get information out of her. At first, he tried simply declining her food and water from her, only promising to give it to her if she told Sun what she wanted to here. When that didn't work out, Sun lost his temper and tried everything he could to get something out of her. Waterboarding, electrocution, hammering nails into her joints, Sun tried every torture imaginable.

She refused to even shed a tear.

At this point, Sun was beginning to lose hope, as were the rest of the group. Finally, when he had all but lost hope, he had a final idea – a hunch – which if proven right, may yield some results. He was currently in a room looking into a prison cell where his guest currently resided. Next to him was Neptune, who was also contemplating what to do. Sun's hunch may not have sat well with Neptune, but it was the only idea he had. Getting up, he stormed into the cell. Despite being bloodied, tied to a chair and basically being left at the mercy of the Wukong mercenaries, the woman smiled snidely at Sun.

She didn't expect what was coming next.

Sun balled his hand into a fist and punched her hard straight to the face, knocking her unconscious instantly. The force of the punch would have knocked the chair flying had Sun not grabbed the edge of it, and pulled it back so it sat on its legs once again. Pulling a knife out of its sheath, he grabbed a hold of it and used the sharp blade to make short work of the girl's clothes.

Come on, please, Sun thought, Give me something…BINGO! He cheered in his mind, smiling triumphantly as he discovered what he was looking for. Just as he did, Neptune burst into the room, the skin on his face pale and a shocked expression on it.

"What do you think you are doing?" Neptune stormed towards Sun, but he soon saw why Sun did what he did.

On the inside of the girl's leg was a tattoo.

The mark of Talon company.

Sun smiled up at Neptune. "I think we have to go pay old Cinder Fall a visit,"

**oo0oo**

Cinder was pacing her office impatiently. As soon as she got back, she sent word to Mr Schnee that she had his daughter, and he replied as fast he could, saying he would meet her on within the week.

Cinder couldn't help but worry. Everything she had done up until this point would have been all for nothing. She needed the patriarch here as soon as he could be.

But Cinder had no intention of handing over Weiss Schnee to her father just yet.

She had another plan on her mind.

Granted, the payoff Mr Schnee offered in exchange for his only daughter was awfully generous and would have funded the Talon company for the next decade. However, Cinder's idea was to hold Weiss - Mr Schnee's only heir to his company - hostage, and therefore control the gun runners. With that kind of influence, Talon would be one of the largest controlling powers in the wasteland, with enough strength and power to rival even the NCR and Legion in the west.

All that mattered was Mr Schnee turning up.

Suddenly, one of her soldiers burst through the door, red in the face, and panting.

"MS FALL, WE HAVE VERTIBIRDS INCOMING!" The soldier screamed, panicking.

"At ease, solider, our guest must've arrived." Cinder smiled, and got up from her chair and was going to leave her office when the solider added something that ruined her day.

"IT ISN'T MR SCHNEE, MA'AM! OUR SENTRIES SAY THEY BELONG TO WUKONG!"

At this, Cinder sprinted out of her office, heading towards the courtyard, fuming. Wukong. That little boy playing solider had always been a thorn in her side, but she believed him to be nothing more than a nuisance, not a genuine threat.

And now she cursed herself for underestimating her enemy.

As soon as she got to the courtyard, she found a whole squadron of vertibirds flying straight for the fort in a V shaped formation. Though all her soldiers were out, firing anything and everything they had at the oncoming threat, it didn't seem to deter the flying force.

But she noticed one vertibird.

It was flying dangerously low.

Cinder's eyes widened in shock as she released the vertibird was on a straight collision course with the main building of fort Bannister.

**oo0oo**

Sun immediately regretted letting Yang take over the flight controls.

As soon as he made the revelation that Talon were the ones who attacked Yang's convoy and took Weiss, he sprung to action, commanding all his soldiers to load up and be ready for combat as fast as they could. Within an hour, much of his force had packed up as much ammunition and equipment as the vertibirds could all carry, and were taking off. Only the barest amount of soldiers stayed behind to guard the fort.

Which led to his current regretful situation.

Yang called shotgun in the lead vertibird, which happened to be Sun's, and Sun had temporarily passed controls over to her while he sent out the word to his soldiers to be ready for drop off. But as soon as he done this, the cockpit was drowned in a red light and a blaring alarm rang in the whole compartment.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO FLY THIS THING?" Sun shouted at Yang.

"I MEAN I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FLY THIS THING! I COULDN'T MAKE IT ANYMORE SIMPLER IF I TRIED!" Yang screamed back.

"THEN WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!

"I DON'T KNOW, I JUST STARTED PUSHING BUTTONS!" Yang screamed again as she tried to fight the joystick for control of the vertibird, which was making a very sharp descent into the building.

"FUCK SAKE, YANG! IF WE SURVIVE THIS, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" Sun shouted while internally praying for his life. The vertibird was filled to the brim with sensitive explosives, and it would be a miracle if they weren't blown to the moon with the way the vertibird was flying.

"RELAX! I GOT THIS UNDER CONTROL!" Screamed Yang, moments before the nose of the vertibird made contact with concrete, plunging the helicopter deep into the building. The shock made Sun and Yang – as well as their passengers (and their cargo, which Sun was most worried about) – shake violently. Finally, crashing into steel and concrete slowed the momentum of the vertibird to a halt. Sun patted his body, making sure everything was still attached and he hadn't died. Satisfied, he looked at the controls, which were still working, despite the pummelling the system took. A readout told Sun that one of the engines was beyond saving and the hull armour took a good knock, but otherwise, everything else was fine. Turning around, he shouted into the passenger compartment.

"SOUND OFF, MEN!"

A series of groans came from the compartment sounded, and Sun saw that everybody looked like they took a good beating, but were still breathing. He slowly turned to the seat next to him, where Yang was smiling sheepishly.

"See? I told you I had it under control!"

_(Notes: talk about starting things with a YANG! Eh? Eh? Anyway, I hope to finish this story very very soon, so stay tuned for the explosive conclusion to in the dust of the old world! Hope you guys enjoy this and ADIOS!)_


	19. Chapter 19: Siege at Fort Bannister

This was bad.

On either side of the fight, it was really, really bad.

On the side of the Talon company, the plan that Cinder had spent ages planning was in danger of failing due to a factor she didn't take into account. That, and their headquarters now had the wreckage of a vertibird inside, causing untold damage that would take months of time, energy and money to fix. Plus, they couldn't access their vertibirds because of the problem that was currently mangled deep within their workings.

On the side of the Wukong company, they were leaderless, not sure whether the head of the company was alive or dead, not to mention they were down one vertibird. It was going to be a huge task to find a new one.

From both sides of the fire, it was a nightmare.

However, deep inside the building, trying to get out of the vertibird, every member on board was thanking their lucky stars that they survived with only a few scratches and some bruising. Yang and Sun had unbuckled themselves, and were climbing out. While Sun was helping the survivors of the crash out, Yang was checking around the vertibird, making sure there weren't any mercenaries coming after them. As Sun helped the last survivor off, he looked inside the compartment and took a quick survey of all the weapons and equipment on board. The crash had destroyed many of the large guns and only a few rifles were in working condition. However, luckily, all the explosives were as good as new, a bunch of C4, mini nukes, and all manner of grenades sat snugly in a corner.

This abundance of destructive ordinance gave Sun a mischievous idea.

Their intention was to get Weiss out of the clutches of Talon company, but now, with a whole bunch of explosives sitting in the heart of his rival's centre of operations, he could easily cripple Talon forever. Hitting two birds with one stone. It was perfect.

But first, they needed to find Weiss.

**oo0oo **

Emerald was currently guarding Weiss who hadn't said a word to anyone since she arrived at the facility. Cinder had told her just to keep an eye on her until she was commanded to break her out.

What she didn't take into account was Weiss slowly calculating her way to break out of the facility.

Ever since she woke up on the floor of a vertibird surrounded by faces she didn't recognize, she kept her mouth shut and slowly tried to process everything from the moment she left. When she woke up, it was an hour in between the moment she woke up and the moment they landed. Weiss remembered that the maximum speed of a vertibird was one hundred miles per hour, which meant she was far away from Ruby, Yang, and Blake were. Sadly, they weren't going to help. They wouldn't know where she was.

So it was up to herself to break herself out.

She didn't know why these people took her or what they wanted for her, all that mattered was escaping. From the moment she left the vertibird, she took a mental note of everything. She recognized the armour of the patrolling guards as that of Talon Company. That meant she was in the capital wasteland. Fort Bannister was a good way from any settlements, the closest being Tenpenny Tower if memory served her correctly. That was a good day away, even if she ran. That meant she would need some supplies to make the journey. But she had no idea where the armoury was in the facility, plus many of these soldiers were larger and stronger than her, it would be near impossible for her to do anything other than annoy the person she aimed to attack. However, the green haired woman who was her guard would be less of a challenge than the others. Despite being taller, she was roughly about the same build as Weiss, and would therefore be on more equal footing with her. Foolishly, they didn't bind her hands or feet when she was thrown into her cell.

As luck would have it, she was about to charge the girl and wrestle one of her guns away when the vertibird crash landed into the building.

Though the vertibird was nowhere near them, the shock was enough to cause Emerald to lose her balance.

This was Weiss's chance.

Taking advantage of her guard temporarily losing her footing, she sprinted towards her as fast as she could, building up speed and momentum. Jumping into her green haired guard, the momentum was enough to knock the guard flying into the wall behind her. Hitting her head off the wall, she was dazed long enough for Weiss to wrestle her two guns free from their holsters. Stepping back, she held the guns out towards Emerald, far away enough so that they couldn't be grabbed, but close enough to so that she could easily stare down the barrels of her own weapons. Mustering all the strength she could, Weiss tried as best as she could to make her voice threatening as she could.

"You have three seconds to toss me the keys before I blow you away,"

Emerald laughed, mocking Weiss," Look at the little pup, trying to act like a wolf- GAH FUCK! JESUS!" Emerald screamed as Weiss blew a hole through her right kneecap. Despite this, she still chuckled "Maybe this pup has some teeth on her,"

"One, toss me the keys," Weiss ordered.

"Fuck you, you – GAH, YOU FUCKING CUNT! UGHHH!" Emerald groaned as Weiss fired two rounds, one into Emerald's knee cap, the other shot mangling her left hand.

"Two, I won't ask you a third time," Weiss ordered yet again. This time she didn't have to act to be threatening. The adrenaline and anger pumping through her system was fuelling her drive to escape. Emerald looked miserably up at her, and used her free hand to fish keys out her pocket, which she slid across the floor Weiss. Weiss picked them up quickly and unlocked her cell door, never taking her eyes or stolen guns off Emerald. Even when Emerald fished into her pocket and got a stimpack and injected it into her leg, Weiss did nothing. She had everything she needed. The guns would be used as hunting tools, and they knew her at Tenpenny tower. All that mattered was sneaking by the guards. But as she went into the corridor, she found something she really didn't expect to see.

Yang. With Myrtenaster in its sheath in her hand. Flanked by Wukong Merecanries.

"Glad you could join the party, Ice queen," Yang smirked with a casual wink. "We're your rescue party," Yang said finally, tossing Myrtenaster at Weiss, which she expertly caught. Weiss huffed, and put Myrtenaster on her belt, before folding her arms and staring at Yang.

"I didn't need your help, you oaf,"

**oo0oo**

"You think they are alright?" Shouted Ruby, as she fired Crescent Rose at oncoming enemies, cutting them down with ease as Blake and the NCR squad held down dozens of Talon mercenaries with suppressing fire as the Wukong mercenaries advanced slowly towards the complex.

"When has Yang ever let us down?" Replied Blake. As though to answer her question, she spied Yang and Sun's squad coming out with Weiss in tow.

"Hey Blakey! Hey Ruby!" Shouted Yang, waving from her cover. In reply, Blake stopped firing for a bit to flip off her girlfriend. The message behind the gesture was clear.

_Screw you for scaring me._

"Oh come on, baby, I'm sorry, you know I like to make my entrances with a Yang!" Yang smiled over the gunfire.

"REALLY? REALLY?! NOW OF ALL TIMES?!"

This time it was Sun's turn to speak up, shouting above the chaos of the battle around them. "I hate to break up this lover's banter. But we are out of here! Fall back! Fall back!"

The Wukong mercenaries heard their master loud and clear, and slowly made their retreat to the vertibirds, picking up wounded and dragging them along to safety. Cinder saw this, and was confused…and worrying. They had the upper hand, If they pushed any further, they would have won the battle, being significantly outmanned. Sun Wukong may have been young, but he was by no means a fool. Fearing another plan was going on here, Cinder trusted her gut feeling and used the chaos to slip away. Tapping her earpiece, she contacted her closest men.

"Mercury, Roman, Emerald, this is Cinder, do you read me?" Cinder ushered into the mic of her earpiece.

"Loud and clear," Mercury answered.

"Yes, ma'am, I hear you," Roman replied.

"uh…huh…Yeah…" Emerald rasped. The death rattling in Emerald's voice had Cinder concerned.

"Em, are you alright?"

"I'm sorry, Cin, Weiss escaped…she got the better of me…"

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT? ANSWER ME, SOLIDER!" Cinder shouted. Though she addressed Cinder as a solider, her concern came from something else. A feeling of attachment.

"Both my knees are blown out, and so's my hand….Stims are the only thing stopping me bleed out,"

This was all Cinder needed to hear.

"ROMAN! MERCURY! MEET US AT POINT F32!" Ripping her earpiece out, she sprinted into the facility, easily navigating her way to the prison cell. Any sense of self preservation had evaporated long ago, she needed to get Emerald out of there. She found her on the floor of the prison cell, barely hanging onto life. Her tanned skin was pale white and her breaths came out in weak rasps. Without a second thought, Cinder fished all her stimpacks from her equipment belt out and pumped Emerald full of them. It helped drastically, as the colour returned to her skin, and Emerald took deep breaths, enjoying the feeling of oxygen in her lungs. Looking at Cinder, she smiled and whispered her name.

"Cinder…"

"Save your strength," Cinder commanded, as she picked up Emerald on her back and rushed back out. Tapping her earpiece, she shouted a second time.

"To all soldiers, this is your commander. You have served me well, and I have failed you today. If you wish to leave and never look back, you won't be hunted down, you have my word. To everyone else, if you wish to keep on serving me, meet us at point F32. Cinder Fall, out,"

**oo0oo**

As the vertibirds took off, the Talon men stopped firing at the vertibirds, and started running off in separate directions. Sun wasn't worried about that, he had won this day. It was only a matter of time till he could blow the detonator. He looked behind him to see Blake with tears in her eyes, stroking Yang's hair, who had her head laid in her lap, while whispering "I thought I lost you, don't ever scare me like that again,". Ruby and Weiss were in one of the other vertibirds, but he could imagine a similar scenario happening.

"WE'VE ALL CLEARED THE EXPLOSION ZONE!" Sage shouted through the intercom, making Sun smile evilly. Grabbing the intercom system to communicate to the other birds, he was almost cackling when he issued the command, his finger itching over the trigger of the C4 detonator.

"HOLD ON TIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! THIS RIDE IS ABOUT TO GET BUMPY IN FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!"

Tick went the detonator.

The sight was beautiful. Sun watched as the vast camp erupted into explosive fire, consuming everything in its way in a glorious inferno. The fire raised high and the impact could be felt on the vertibirds, as some turbulence started knocking the vertibird. As this happened, Sun was cackling wildly, like a child who was being violently tickled. Sage looked at his friend who was rolling on the floor with a single eyebrow raised. Sun looked at him after wiping a tear from his ear, gasping heavily.

"Dude, I don't know about you, but that was so worth losing a vertibird for!"

_(Notes: Just the conclusion left! I am so happy all you guys have stayed along for the ride, it has been fun! I love this story with a passion, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. PLEASE REVIEW IT! It would mean the god damn world to me! I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter and ADIOS!)_


	20. Chapter 20: An ending to a Journey

Cinder smiled for the first time since she had seen her life's work destroyed before her very eyes almost a month ago.

As soon as she ordered the retreat from Fort Bannister, she and Emerald narrowly made it out with their lives. A large handful of men and women were at the retreat point, more than she first expected. That was just as a great raging fire consumed all the building, reducing the once proud military base into a fiery graveyard. Not just for her men, but also everything she had ever hoped to accomplish. Enraged, she ordered her men south to Tenpenny Tower. She had occasionally done contracts for the old man who ran the place, and they were both on amicable terms. She was sure he would let her in no problem.

And if he didn't, she vowed she would punch her way through.

As well as a place to plan her next move, Emerald was in desperate need of a place with a qualified doctor and plenty of medical supplies. Stimpacks only worked so much, and at this point, they were just helping prolong Emerald's death. If she didn't see a doctor soon, she was dead.

Luck was on their side that day. The journey took less than a day and the now significantly smaller mercenary company only encountered the slightest amount of resistance in the wasteland in the form of wild dogs and small radscorpions. When they reached Tenpenny Tower, they were let in without question and were welcomed with open arms from the security team, and even mister Burke – the man who dealed with Tenpenny's "Business" transactions – and Alistair Tenpenny himself. Maybe it was out of mutual respect for each other, or maybe because Tenpenny clearly understood Cinder was a threat when angered and desired to do everything in his power NOT to anger her. It didn't matter to Cinder. Tenpenny set them up with rooms for each of her men, and his resident doctor got to work immediately on Emerald. He said to Cinder Emerald was in a stable condition, but it would be a while before she was herself again. Her knee joints and hand needed to be replaced with cybernetic technology, which Cinder instantly went hunting for, finding it easily in Rivet City from a man called Zimmerman. Taking this technology for her own, she worked tirelessly with the doctor to save Emerald's life, as well as planning her next move with her lieutenants Mercury and Roman.

A month had passed since then. Emerald had fully recovered and was back on her feet, though the cybernetics took a while for her to get used to, and moral among her men was high.

It would be a shame that Cinder would have to ruin this new found peace with her next move.

After much deliberation among her lieutenants, she had decided her next move was to head Northwest to the Pitt. She had originally came from there, and was well known among the people. It was no longer a place where slaves were brought in but a bustling paradise. This was where they were planning to go.

"But how are we going to fund the trip? We need supplies, money, weapons, ammunition. How do you plan to cover it?" Roman asked Cinder during one of their secret meetings. At this Cinder smiled and brandished a knife.

"When all of the residents are asleep, we are going to take over this place. Wipe out security, slit the resident's throats in their sleep, and steal all their supplies. We'll trade them in at the next town,"

Roman smiled evilly back at his boss. "You had this all figured out,"

"Dear Roman, never underestimate me,"

**oo0oo**

"Hey Scar, how are we doing today?" Ruby asked her friend innocently, who groaned in reply.

"Just dandy, little Red," Ruby rolled her eyes at him, before checking over his recently healed wound. After they arrived from the assault on fort Bannister, the girl they held prisoner escaped. Scarlet tried to step up and be the hero, only to get slashed across the belly. Luckily, the cut wasn't deep enough to cause any permanent damage, but with the addition of all the extra wounded, Ruby volunteered to look after him as well as the others.

"No need to be snappy with me, I'm just keeping an eye on you," Ruby said, before getting a surprise kiss from a passing Weiss. She turned and smiled at her girlfriend, before they both went back to their individual patients. Rumour had it that Mr Schnee had not given up on his search for Weiss Schnee and had offered a million caps to the person who brought her back to him. However, having no intention to ever go home, the Wukong mercenary corps didn't say a word, and there was a silent agreement that Weiss was going to stay with Yang's convoy for a while.

"Get a room, you two," Scarlet joked before being reduced into a fit of coughing.

"Shut up, you big baby," Ruby replied with a smile, before injecting him with stims and med-x. "Ok, I injected enough meds in you to knock out a Yao Guai, so take it easy,"

"Speaking of Yao Guai, how's Zwei?" Scarlet asked innocently, his voice already sounding heavy with sleep.

"He's good. As far as I know, he's in the courtyard, playing catch with Yang and Blake. I think they've warmed up to him."

Scarlet nodded again, before asking one final question, the drugs making him sleepy. "So, where to next for you guys?"

Ruby thought about it for a second. "We got some friends around New Vegas, we promised we'd visit them whenever we could," Ruby said. Finally, Scarlet drifted off to sleep, and Ruby moved onto her next patient. She had no idea what the future had in store, but it couldn't have been as crazy as being hunted by slavers and the most ruthless mercenary company known throughout the wasteland…could it?

She then turned to Weiss, who gave her a friendly smile, which made Ruby's heart do flips.

Whatever the future held, as long as she had her family, she would handle it.

_(Final Notes: AND THUS THIS STORY IS FINISHED! I started this story the same date last year and I am so happy I finished it up on the same day a year later! This is the first story I ever started and the first multichapter story I ever started. I am so happy I gave it this send off. Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed this story. Special thank yous to Ann E. Casap and Mr stark357, you guys were a huge help on this story! Anyway, this is not the last of this AU, I have got so much more planned, but this is the end of the first instalment of what I hope to be a very long series. I apologize for the sort conclusion, but this was simply meant to be a nice little bow on the story, no more, no less. HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED, STAY AWESOME AND ADIOS!)_


	21. UPDATE: NEW STORY!

**HEY GUYS! If you enjoyed "In the Dust of the Old World", check out the next story in (What I hope to be) the fallout/ RWBY saga. This isnt going to be super long, just a nice short multichapter story. Enjoy the first chapter of the story!**

"Oh man…Yang…are we there yet?" Ruby panted heavily, her throat raspy and parched from lack of water, using one arm to grip the strap of her bag and the other to prop herself against Zwei's side for support.

"If that woman, Trashcan Carla, was it? If she is correct, then it should less than half a kilometre to the north," Weiss said, pointing out the direction with her finger as the convoy slowly wandered out of the burnt out town of Concorde. She too was getting pretty tired, but unlike her lover, she kept it well hidden.

"It better be worth it, otherwise I'll fucking trash her can," grumbled Yang. Out of the four members of the convoy, Yang was the most annoyed from the miles of trekking through wasteland and a lack of sleep. There was a rumour that a new large settlement appeared on the northern border of the commonwealth. Yang decided that since they were only a few days away, that they should check it out to expand their already existing trading routes. However, she was really beginning to regret her decision. The pilgrimage was hitting the group hard. Their supplies were beginning to dwindle to the point of needing to be rationed and raiders had wounded their pack Brahmin, forcing them to carry the majority of their goods.

"That doesn't even make sense," said Weiss, squinting her eyes slightly at Yang's statement as she adjusted her heavy load. Yang was about to retort, when the group noticed something. As they walked further up the road, a red rocket truck stop came into view. Most of it was walled of with scrap metal, rubber tires and all over manner of junk. The only way in was protected by machine gun turrets and a single man, dressed in metal armour and armed with a hunting rifle. The turrets continued to whir loudly and make their sweep, as if they didn't notice the newcomers. The guard didn't appear hostile upon noticing the newcomers either, but when at first he seemed at ease, he suddenly focused all their attention upon Yang's convoy. Even when he saw the large Yao Guai, he didn't fire upon the group. While Weiss found this display a bit threatening and started to feel slightly nervous, the rest of the group felt a little more at ease. After all, if the guard was going to shoot, he and the turrets would have done so already. And on the odd chance that he did fire, Blake was camouflaged in the nearby trees, ready to counterattack.

"Howdy!" Yang half shouted to the guard, holding her hand up high and waving to him. Ruby returned the gesture, smiling happily.

"Afternoon, ladies," the guard answered, tilting his helmet in a way of greeting, slightly lowering his guard.

"Sorry to bother you, but you wouldn't happen to know where Sanctuary Hills is?" Weiss asked the guard as she neared the gate to the settlement.

"First time in the commonwealth, huh? No problem, you aren't far. Just keep heading down the road. Just don't cause any trouble."

"Much appreciated! Do you have anything to trade here?" Yang asked.

"A few bits and bobs, but you're honestly better off heading to Sanctuary Hills. Not much but food and water here,"

"In that case, do you mind if we come in for a bit of trading? We could do with some supplies" Yang asked politely, her request reinforced by a very audible growl from Ruby's stomach. The guard let out a hearty laugh, and shook his head.

"You get your friend out from behind that car, and maybe I will. DO YOU HEAR THAT, MISS? I SEE YOU." The guard shouted to the wreck of a chrysler highwayman, to which Blake popped up, with her rifle holstered and her hands up.

"Sorry, she's our safety policy," Weiss explained to him.

"It's no bother, I understand. Anyway, I'm opening up the gate, stay here,"

**oo0oo**

"Oh man…that radstag stew hit the spot…" Ruby moaned happily, patting her belly for effect. She still propped herself against Zwei, but it was more from the fact she was stuffed this time round.

"I'm glad you enjoyed the meal. You all have a safe trip now, not that you have much farther to go. And thanks for the bullets!" The guard said his farewells and Yang gave a final wave to the guard, who nodded a final time towards her. Though they kept on walking away, the guard never took his eyes off the group.

"What's his problem?" Weiss grumbled, looking back at the guard, who was now but a small figure.

"I keep on forgetting you haven't lived out here as much as us. Well, Weiss, some folks prefer to stay in settlements or build up their own homes. A place of security, where you can grow your own food and drink your own water. That's enough to grab anyone's attention out in the wasteland." Yang explained.

"Hmmm, I suppose so, but that doesn't give him the right to just point his weapon at anyone he likes." Weiss complained.

"Distrust of others is a good way to keep yourself alive out here," Yang concluded.

"Sure, most of the time, but not always," Ruby pointed out, still leaning against Zwei's muscled shoulder. "I mean, we made friends with Weiss!"

"That was different, Ruby," Yang said, ending the debate. She turned her head slightly to the right, to find Blake walking calmly next to her. She jumped up slightly, giving a high pitched yelp of surprise, replaced with an angry tone. "GAH, FUCK! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Maybe you should pay more attention then," replied Blake in a monotone voice. "Besides, I thought I should join you guys. We're almost there. The guard wasn't wrong at all,"

"How far?" Ruby asked, suddenly excited.

"Just up the road a bit and across the river," Blake pointed to her right. True to her word, across a wide river, stood a whole collection of buildings tightly packed together.

"Well!" Yang announced, adjusting her bag pack with new found vigour, a slight spring in her step. "That's the best news I heard all day! Let's go!"

**oo0oo**

The group grew quickly attached to the town. Despite its size, it was well populated, and the people were polite and welcoming to the newcomers, stopping them to chat about their travels. They found the traders in a giant wooden shack. The majority of the other traders gave them very good deals and the convoy had made a huge profit, while the traders had made plenty of new stock. It looked like the trip was well worth it.

Until the convoy met Friendly Jack, the weapons dealer.

"Are you kidding me?! This is a silenced anti-material rifle, with explosive rounds! I took down a fucking alpha deathclaw with this bitch! AND YOU WANT TO GIVE ME ONLY FIVE FUCKING HUNDRED CAPS FOR IT!?" Yang shouted at the weapons merchant, who was undeterred by her sudden rage.

"IT EVEN IS IN BRAND NEW CONDITION!" Weiss screamed at him.

"FIVE CLIPS FULL OF EXPLOSIVE ROUNDS AS WELL! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU ONLY GIVE US THAT MUCH?!" Ruby argued. Zwei growled alongside her, backing up his master.

"IT'S AT LEAST WORTH TWO GRAND!" Even the usually calm Blake was getting fairly annoyed.

"Ladies, I ain't in the mood for bartering with you. 500 caps is my final offer," he said in a bland voice. Yang took a deep sigh and seemed to accept surrender.

"Ok, fine, I am only giving you the bullets-"

"Eighty caps then."

"Ok, ok, but on one condition. You pick up a box, lay out the bullets like this…" Yang picked up a full box and rolled the round gently onto the table, picking up each one individually and lining them. "…set them up in a row, like this, ok? And once they are all set up in a nice row, I want you to each one up," Yang picked up a single round from the end of the row. "And shove it up your-"

"WOW! Been a while, since we had visitors! I heard gossip around town, but I wanted to see it for myself!" A dark-skinned man, clad in a cream coloured overcoat and a dark coloured hat, with a laser rifle the girls had never seen before slung over his shoulder. He came up to the girls and eagerly shook each of their hands, even stopping to pat Zwei on the nose, to which the bear growled contentedly.

"Name's Preston McGarvey, and you ladies are…?"

"I'm Ruby!" The small redhead piped up happily.

"Weiss Schnee," The heiress did a small bow, greeting Preston politely as she was always taught to do.

"Blake," Answered the ebony haired girl simply.

"COULD YOU TELL YOUR BOY HERE TO GIVE US A FAIR DEAL?!...I mean, I'm Yang," replied the still fuming convoy leader.

"Alright, let's see what we got here…" Preston politely moved in between the convoy and started inspecting the goods. "hmmm…anti material rifle, haven't seen one of these in a while…carbon fibre frame and rod, suppressor, mint condition…forty explosive rounds…how much did you offer these ladies, Jack?"

"500 caps," Answered the trader simply.

"ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS, MAN?! ONE OF THESE IN A SHITTY NICK COULD CRIPPLE A FUCKING MUTANT OVERLOAD! AND THIS LOOKS BRAND NEW! ARE YOU INSANE?!" The once calm Preston now snapped, looking at Jack as though he suddenly became insane. As the merchant was about to reply, Preston instantly fished into his large pocket and plopped a heavy bag of caps in Yang's hand. "I knew Jack was hard on his deals, but even that's a new low for him, here are two thousand caps. I need it for a job anyway."

"Oh, and what's this job?" Yang asked innocently, while secretly hoping to get some action on a mission with Preston.

"Well, I thought you were traders, not mercenaries," asked a fairly confused Preston.

"Think of us as a jack-of-all-trades," Yang replied.

"Well, in that case, I may have a job for you…"

**If you guys enjoyed this chapter, be sure to follow the story! Hope you guys are all well and ADIOS!**


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